Wildlife Mini-Bytes.....
Koalas
Attention everyone who cares about our wildlife and in particular koalas... Come and join us at a Rally in Brisbane Square on Sept 25th in Brisbane... Sign in at 11am, Rally starts at 12. Please register you interest at saveourkoalas@gmail.com Lets show you support of our wildlife and meet like minded people.....*Network Item
Wildlife Trafficking
Illegal wildlife traffickers in Argentina are bleaching the plumage of common parrots and passing them off as their rarer and more valuable cousins. Wildlife groups say the burrowing parrot, a breed that inhabits most of the country’s territory, is being captured in large numbers and dyed in order to give it the appearance of a much rarer Amazon species that can fetch at least double the price on the thriving black market. The bird, which has an olive green back, blue wings and a yellow belly with a red stain, is given a hydrogen peroxide bath to give it the appearance of a blue-and-yellow macaw, which has a much higher price tag of up to $530 (£320). They are then sold at fairs in Buenos Aires and elsewhere as part of an illegal trade in exotic wildlife worth millions of dollars annually. * Times on Line
Freaky Food
A website list of some of the "fear factor" freakiest foods available, includes kangaroo meat. Along with Fried Goat Head, Roasted Bone Marrow, Grasshopper Tacos, Lamb Eyeballs, Turkey Testicles, and Goose Intestines, kangaroo meat is considered a freaky food on this website. http://www.ethiopianreview.com/articles/24579
Dolphins
Conservationists say the death of three dolphins in Queensland's Moreton Bay last week should not be blamed on a fertiliser and oil spill in March. The Pacific Adventurer lost 31 containers of fertiliser in rough seas off Cape Moreton, damaging the ship which leaked thousands of litres of oil. But Simon Baltais from the Wildlife Preservation Society says the dolphins' deaths are more likely to have been caused by south-east Queensland's booming population. "Dispersion of that fertiliser would have been fairly quick and I think you'll find most scientists would agree with that," he said. "I think what we're seeing is a symptom of a bigger problem and that's the health of Moreton Bay going backwards - we're seeing increased loads of nutrients entering the bay through stormwater pollution and that could be one of the major drivers." *ABC
Hendra Virus
An outbreak of Hendra virus at horse stud in Central Queensland has opened up an opportunity for more strident calls for the killing of flying foxes in the Ross Creek and Cawarral areas. The flying fox colony at Yeppoon in Ross Creek has had much controversy over the years. In the 1930's, the local Council organised a yearly "posse" of residents armed with shotguns to get rid of them, and some residents still stay the "posse" should come back. It's sometimes hard to understand why some people hate animals so much, with all the information that is availabe for people to educate themselves about wildlife. Much of the coastal tropical vine scrub that provided food for the flying foxes has gone under for houses and development, so now they have to forage wherever they can. *WPAA
Tree Kangaroos
The world's rarest tree kangaroo is in the midst of a comeback in a remote part of Papua New Guinea. On the brink of extinction in 2001 with a population estimated at fewer than 100 individuals, Scott's Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus scottae), or the tenkile, is recovering, thanks to the efforts of the Tenkile Conservation Alliance to motivate local communities to reduce hunting and respect critical forest habitat. The tenkile Conservation Alliance, led by Australians Jim and Jean Thomas, works to provide alternative sources of protein and raise environmental awareness among local communities. *Mongabay..Read more here http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0820-tree_kangaroo_interview.html
Twitter ect.
As Editor of Wildlife Bytes, I get many requests to follow people on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and many other social websites, some of which I've never heard of before. While I would love to do so, I'm sorry but I simply don't have the time to get involved in such chat programs. However I do acknowledge they are a valuable tool for wildlife carers to swap information. * Pat O'Brien
More New Species Found
Over 350 new species including the world’s smallest deer, a “flying frog” and a 100-million-year-old gecko have turned up in the Eastern Himalayas, a biological treasure trove threatened by climate change, researchers say, including the frog Rhacophofus suffry, which uses its long webbed feet to glide when falling. One fruit of the decade long project: the discovery of the bright green frog Rhacophorus suffry, which uses its long, red and webbed feet to glide while falling. Also found was a 100-million year-old gecko, the oldest fossil gecko species known to science, in an amber mine in the Hukawng Valley in Himalayan regions of far northern Myanmar, scientists said. The report also notes the miniature muntjac, or “leaf deer” Muntiacus putaoensis, as the world’s oldest and smallest deer species. Scientists initially thought the small creature found in the world’s largest mountain range was a juvenile of another species. But DNA tests persuaded researchers that the light brown animal with innocent dark eyes was a distinct, new species. Among the new finds are also 244 plant species. The miniature muntjac, also called the “leaf deer,” is only 60 to 80 cm (24 to 32 inches) tall.
“This enormous cultural and biological diversity underscores the fragile nature of an environment which risks being lost forever unless the impacts of climate change are reversed,” said Tariq Aziz, leader of the fund’s Living Himalayas Initiative. He called the region “among the most vulnerable to global climate change.” In December world leaders plan to gather in Copenhagen to try to resolve differences over a new climate deal, which would replace the existing Kyoto Protocol. The Eastern Himalayas are known to harbour a staggering 10,000 plant species, 300 mammal species, 977 bird species, 176 reptiles, 105 amphibians and 269 types of freshwater fish. The region also has the highest density of the Bengal tiger and is the last bastion of the charismatic greater one-horned rhino. Fund officials said the group aims to conserve the habitat of endangered Himalayan species such as the majestic snow leopard, Bengal tigers, Asian elephants, red pandas, takins, golden langurs, rare Gangetic dolphins and one-horned rhinos. The tough landscape of the Eastern Himalayas has led it to be poorly surveyed in terms of biological diversity, scientists say. New species continue to be unearthed. *World Science
Flying Foxes
Despite their dangerous and dying condition, the State Government has refused Singleton Shire Council's request to cut down the bat-colonised trees in Burdekin Park for now.Instead, sections of Burdekin Park may have to be closed to the public. Singleton Shire Council was reasonably confident licences required to remove 10 dead and dying trees from the park would be approved by the State Government. The removal of the trees had been set down to take place on Thursday and Friday last week, however, the licences required to do this will not be issued for at least another seven months. Council's manager of parks and facilities, Alan Fletcher, said bat numbers were the problem.
The flying fox colony usually relocates out of the park for the colder months but this year's mild winter has seen the numbers retained. "At this time of year there are usually no bats in the park, but we currently have a few thousand," Mr Fletcher said. "We've received a verbal answer from the State Government about our application and it is no, we can't remove the trees now because there are too many bats in them, many of which are pregnant. "So we are not going to be able to carry out the removal until at least March or April next year." In November last year, an inspection of the park by arborist John Atkins found that due to damage from the flying fox activity, disease and age, 10 chirr pines should be removed.
With this no longer an option, Mr Fletcher said it was likely certain areas of the park would have to be closed. "This (no licences) has raised the issue of how we will manage the park," he said. "We are going to have to be stringent in our surveillance. "In some areas, such as near the museum, there is little to no risk, but there are other areas where there will be substantial risk, and this will grow as the trees deteriorate further. "There will be broken branches falling to the ground, so I envisage we'llhave to fence off areas of the park." Mr Fletcher said it was unfortunate, but council's hands were tied over the issue. *Singleton Argus
Wildlife Poaching
Conservationists in the UK have accused police chiefs of pushing crimes against wildlife "to the back of the queue" today.More than 100 organisations, led by the RSPB, called for a review of how police protect the nation's rare animals and plants. They said a lack of agreed standards across forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has led to an inconsistent approach. A shortage of specialist officers and the low priority given to wildlife crimes means criminals can break the law with little fear of getting caught. Ian West, head of investigations at the RSPB, said the review should be led by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). He said: "Strong laws to protect our wildlife are a sign of a civilised society, but they are only of value if properly enforced."
Wildlife crime was targeted in October 2006 with the formation of the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU). It gathers information about wildlife crime and supports police forces and customs officers across Britain. . "The NWCU has listed priorities for wildlife crime enforcement in the UK, including the killing and persecution of birds of prey. Yet, in parts of the English uplands and on the edges of some towns and cities, bird of prey persecution continues at unacceptably high levels. "There are many competing demands on our police, but wildlife crime is all too often pushed to the back of the queue," he added. Based in East Lothian, the NWCU's most high-profile priority is protecting rare and endangered species such as birds of prey. Members also work to safeguard badgers, fish and hares from baiting, poaching and hunting.
Lesser known priorities include protecting roosting bats and identifying people who steal and damage fresh water pearl mussels. In June, an annual report revealed just nine people are manning the unit after bosses were unable to secure permanent funding. They have been swamped with tip-offs and other information from police forces, local authorities and charities. The number of offenders monitored by the unit continued to grow with 1,503 recorded in the last financial year, an increase of 161 on the previous 12 months. Senior members said they are struggling to counter the surge in sales of endangered species on the internet. Paul Wilkinson, of The Wildlife Trusts, said: "It is important that we achieve much greater clarity and rigour in our approach to wildlife crime. The current uncertainty around what constitutes a wildlife crime is surely unacceptable. This grey area helps those who commit wildlife crimes and puts the enforcement agencies, and wildlife itself, at a disadvantage." * Gardian.co.uk
Shooters Bill
It is amazing now with the internet how far this column actually travels outside of the Macleay. People horrified by the Shooters Party ‘Game and Feral Animal Control Amendment Bill 2009’ have contacted me from all over NSW and even Tasmania regarding articles printed here. It turns out that not only are these correspondents totally against any Game Council hunting in National Parks of native animals (and also feral animals), but they are writing to me about shooters invading their property and, thanks to Minister Ian Macdonald, appearing at any time in State Forests designated for hunting. One property owner has written to me claiming 13 incidents with hunters on his property in 2006-7. These incidents have involved people armed with firearms lost outside his house at 5am, shooters having target practice and leaving rubbish on his property, shooters picnicking, shooting near his house, entering his property with pig dogs without permission, a hunter with unlicensed friends cutting his fence to bypass his gate and even parking their cars on his property.
A lady involved with a pony club at Orange wrote to me describing how parents there will no longer allow their children to ride their horses in the State Forest because they never know when the shooters will be operating. The NPWS released a media statement last month decrying the slaughter at Rollands Plains of kangaroos which were stacked up in a pile with beer cans shoved in their pouches. Fortunately through the publicity in The Argus and Port News someone has come forward with names. It will be interesting to see if those responsible actually had shooters licences and permission to be there. A reader sent me clippings of a hunter shot in the back last year by his mate near Bourke and admitted to Dubbo Base Hospital in a stable but critical condition. Last December a 13-year-old boy at Orange had an arrow removed from his chest. He recovered but the wide blade hunting arrows are meant, obviously, to kill. I wrote recently, satirically, that soon hunters might be able to experience the thrill of bringing down a charging wombat in National Parks. I have just received a photograph of a wombat transfixed by such an arrow and left beside the road.
These arrows are usually retrieved and one wonders whether the animal crawled away to die in agony or was just left there to make some sort of sick statement. Be very aware we are not talking here about farmers protecting their livestock or crops from feral animals. There are people out there with a very different mindset to the average person. It seems the Shooters Party might regret moving this Bill, which resulted in the closing of State Parliament when the Shooters refused to support Labor’s legislation. It seems the furore has brought out not only public uproar over the threat to native animals in National Parks, but also unleashed the growing dissatisfaction amongst users of our State Forests who feel threatened already by shooters, and concern from farmers who are constantly encountering shooters on their property or cars with shooters driving at night on roads near them. You can often see the bullet holes in RTA fauna warning signs.
It seems the Shooters Party may have lost their battle to get into National Parks. I received a very welcome letter from NSW Minister for Climate Change and the Environment, Carmel Tebbutt, on that topic. Ms Tebbutt writes that “… the Government does not support hunting in national parks or the hunting of native animals, including waterbirds, on conservation or other grounds. “Making national parks available for incompatible purposes like hunting threatens to undermine their value to existing users, including families and visitors to our State. “Where native species do need to be managed, for example to mitigate damage to property or crops, existing regulatory provisions allow this to occur under strict controls. “The Department of Environment and Climate Change also undertakes strategic feral animal control programs in national parks. “The NSW Government is committed to the important role of our national parks and reserves in achieving our natural resource targets to conserve native flora, fauna and wetlands, increase opportunities for nature based recreation and tourism and improve community wellbeing.”
This is a very significant and courageous statement by the Minister. This is not just an Environment Minister protecting fauna in our national parks. It will have serious ramifications for the Labor Party in NSW and for the Shooters Party. If the Labor party stick by her on this it will cause a showdown with the Shooters Party, which holds the balance of power in the Upper House and can in effect prevent Labor from governing. State Labor know a bloodbath awaits them in any election caused through a double dissolution at this stage, so where do they go with this? For that matter it is not certain just where the Shooters Party stand on the prospect of another election. They will have strengthened the redneck vote, but there will be an awful lot of hunters out there working with farmers on destroying foxes and wild dogs on an invitation basis who will not be very impressed with what this Shooters Bill is doing to their reputation without them in some cases being part of the consultation.
So there will likely be a deal to give the Shooters enough to save some face from their self-imposed debacle. The general public, however, who do not have a vested interest in shooting things, will be wondering about single issue political parties who can hold the balance of power in our democratic system and hold our government to ransom on any legislation at all, not just their single interest. Meanwhile for those of you who object to the Shooters Party Bill, you can sign the NSW Nature Conservation Council petition at www.naturensw.org./nohunting *Macleay Argus 18/08/2009
Australian hostility to 'feral' animals
Australia's hatred of the Indian mynah bird ignited this week, with local councils drawing up plans for community cullings to combat the pest. Like another loathed invader, the cane toad, the bird was originally imported from Asia to eat cane beetles, but is now the latest target of Australians' complex relationship with its wildlife. The mynah is estimated to cost east coast farmers in the vicinity of AS$300 million a year. Its fouling of lawns and clotheslines has propelled it into the top 10 most hated feral animals in Australia. One caller to talk back radio, reacting to the council plans, gleefully recounted how her husband had built and deployed a mynah bird trap in celebration of their last wedding anniversary. The irate residents have jolted councils into action, with one in Sydney's western suburbs reportedly spending $5,000 to catch just two birds.
The mynahs are also expanding slowly westwards, evicting native parrots and possums from their nests as they go. Bird-hunting neighbourhood vigilantes have had some success. Canberra's Indian Mynah Action group, set up three years ago by dedicated bird watcher, have carefully documented all 27,500 Indian mynahs they have killed. Founding member, Bill Handke, knows they will never eradicate the bird but says "it's not a reason to do nothing". But scientists say Australian attitudes to invasive species, colloquially known as ferals, often have little to do with science. "Hate isn't strong enough" to describe how Australians feel about ferals says Professor Tony Peacock, who heads Invasive Species Cooperative Research Centre in Canberra.
For the past 18 months he has tracked public opinion on a host of invasive animals including wild cats, dogs, brumbies, camels, and a swag of other detested creatures including the Indian mynah Consistently the cane toad rates as the number one hated pest, even though scientists say the damage it wreaks pales in comparison to other species. The Indian mynah ranks at seven, though it has been as high as fourth. Rabbits have moved up to third place. "Four out of ten people were saying they hated rabbits but its now five to six people because we have been doing a lot of publicity about them," Peacock says. Peacock, who hopes to harness anti-feral sentiment to recruit volunteers to help map the resurgent rabbit population, says that older people particularly dislike the pest because they remember when it literally plagued the land.
"Even if you didn't come from a farm you would go to your uncle's farm for holidays, so you were aware that rabbits and foxes were a problem because your uncle had to go out and shoot them," Peacock says. The detestation of alien species in Australia come in part from the importance of the country's unique wildlife in the national psyche. Although an increasingly remote experience, Australians continue to identify with the bush says Tim Low, a founder of the Invasive Species Council. "It's definitely part of the national culture. We love the fact that we have strange animals like kangaroos, platypus and koalas. There's a lot of hostility to the idea that foreign animals can come in and destroy the native habitat," Low says. Yet ironically this pride has failed to protect the dingo and the kangaroo, which appears on the national coat of arms, from being culled as pests. They rank 15 and 17 respectively on Peacock's surveys. So reviled is the dingo that Lyn Watson, who breeds the native canine in Victoria, is worried they are being pushed to the edge of extinction. "Australia has a powerful rural lobby and when animals get in the way, we kill them," she says. *Guardian.co.uk
Kangaroos
A long-time professional kangaroo shooter from Clermont has revealed he's going to have to change occupations now that Russia has banned Australian imports. Chris Hayman, 53, has been hunting roos most of his life but said he'll have to get a new job to keep his head above water. Mr Hayman said prices have nosedived from about $1 a kilogram to 65 cents. “It's hard to make any money out of it really, the way the prices are,” he said. “I usually leave here at 4pm, get (to a property) about 5pm-ish, shoot all night and come home. Some times I don't get finished until 10am. “Say you make $800 a night. I take out about a third for tax, $100 for fuel and after bullets and tags, you're back to at least half.“For all the hours you work you don't make much money.”
Demand is set to ease substantially since Russia banned the importation of kangaroo meat, sparking concerns the roo population will explode. According to AgForce, kangaroos account for about 30 per cent of total grazing pressure and without access to the Russian market, numbers will skyrocket. “The announcement by Russia is extremely concerning because it accounts for about 70 per cent of total exports,” AgForce's Brent Finlay said. “The recent forecast of a 20 to 30 per cent increase in kangaroo numbers due to improved seasons, when combined with reduced harvesting, will significantly impact areas already suffering immense production losses from over-grazing by marsupials. “… The ultimate job losses from this decision will be significant. There are 2035 kangaroo harvesters licensed in Queensland, including about 400 full-time shooters.” Chris Hayman thinks too many people are being allowed permits. “There's too many blokes with jobs who are doing it,” he said. “When prices are up they all go out and make dollars out of it. When it went to 80 cents half the town got a permit... but there should be capped permit numbers.” *CQ News
A littleknown ban on the sale of kangaroo meat in New York has been overturned, sparking outrage from animal rights activists. After a six month lobbying effort, New York lawmakers have agreed to drop a ban on the sale of all but one kangaroo species. Only the rare Tasmanian Forester Kangaroo will remain off the menu, the Herald Sun has learned. Australian officials recently rejected a push to place the giant marsupial on the national threatened species list. The New York Department of Conservation and Environment confirmed the law had been modified. New York Governor David Paterson this month signed off on the change, which allows any roo but the Forester to be served from November 11. Animal rights activists are furious. "We would always be happy with laws that do restrict the sale of meat and we wouldn't want a law banning roo meat overturned," said People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal's Asia director Jason Baker. "They come to a violent and bloody death, as do all animals in this industry," he said.
The Herald Sun learned of the drama after a popular Australian-themed bar in Manhattan, Eight Mile Creek, removed kangaroo skewers from its menu. The bar was one of at least three vendors that were blindsided by a conservation department blitz about eight months ago, when they were issued fines of up to $US5000. The establishments, which included one of downtown Manhattan's best-known butchers, removed all traces of roo as lawmakers debated changing the rules. New York lawyer, John Dyett, said the ban had been a "serious piece of conservation law" that New Yorkers had introduced four decades ago, before clear roo slaughter rules existed in Australia. He said the legislature had made a "wise and sensible" decision by taking up local assemblyman Rob Sweeney's push to update the law, which lets conservation officials extend the ban to any roo species they want in the future. "We do know back in Australia they are prolific breeders," Mr Dyett said.
"New York State is heavily protecting an endangered Australian species and the commissioner has been given the authority to further protect others as needed," he said. The Tasmanian Forester roo is not an endangered species in Australia. Australia's Threatened Species Scientific Committee rejected a move to have it listed as threatened as recently as May based on a receommendation that said the species "is not subject to a continuing decline, nor has it undergone a recent decline." *HeraldSun
NSW Wildlife Survey
As a follow up to previous work, the Department of Environment and Climate Change is conducting the 2009 internet based Wildlife Survey concerning several important species that you may have seen in NSW. You are invited to participate. This survey is entirely online and hosted at the Conservation Research web site. All the details are securely stored and all identifying material will NOT be made available to anyone outside the Department of Environment and Climate Change. All data analysis and storage is performed on data with identifying material removed. To start the survey, please use the following link. http://www.ConservationResearch.com.au/WildlifeSurvey.html/?id=11028
This link will start the survey. After the introduction, the survey will ask you to enter brief contact details. Apart from survey follow up information and broad tabulated summaries, these details will be used to centre the online map near your home. Your personal details will not be used in any other way and no identifying material will be released to other people either within or outside the department. After you complete the survey we would be grateful if you would in turn encourage friends and/or relatives to also provide us with wildlife sighting data by using this same website. We thank you in advance for taking the time to fill out the questionnaire and map. We greatly value this community information. It goes a long way to help manage these species across NSW. One important part of our survey is to confirm or update the locations of the particular species. Your local knowledge as to where you have seen these animals is a very important ingredient in the process. The department’s privacy policy (which applies to all aspects of this survey) is further explained on our corporate web site http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/help/privacy.htm and is linked to from within the survey. *Ian Shannon and Dan Lunney for Wildlife Research Team.
Taiji Dolphins
A council in Western Australia's Kimberley has revealed hate mail has been sent to councillors of Japanese heritage in connection with the annual dolphin cull in the town's Japanese sister city. Shire of Broome councillors voted unanimously on the weekend to suspend the town's sister city relationship with Taiji in protest at the slaughter of thousands of dolphins. The shire has been bombarded with emails and letters as part of an international backlash against the practice. One councillor was reduced to tears at the meeting as he described his family's Japanese heritage and the hurt the issue had caused. The shire's president, Graeme Campbell, says the councillor is one of several people who have suffered racial harassment because of their Japanese heritage. "Offensive emails, offensive phone calls. You'd hate to go back to the bad old days of racism," he said.
Mr Campbell says the racial slurs are disappointing. "I hesitate to name people but you saw the evidence today of one person who has been harassed," he said. "Look, 99.9 per cent of people are very good about how they go about doing business but unfortunately there's a minority who act otherwise." The shire says the sister city relationship will resume if the dolphin cull stops. Conservationists have welcomed the decision to suspend Broome's sister city relationship with Taiji. Local resident Una Baker coordinated a petition that was presented to the council on Saturday. Ms Baker says the town has done the right thing. "It's exactly what we wanted," she said. "It covers the ground of putting those ties aside until we do get the result of stopping the slaughter of dolphins. We couldn't have asked for a better result. We're very, very happy." *ABC
Illegal Dumping
Hunter national parks continue to double as dumping grounds, with bio-hazardous materials, asbestos, household waste and discarded butchered carcasses, tossed in the region's reserves. Illegal dumping has become so common that the National Parks and Wildlife Service said areas cleaned up by rangers were littered again within days, making it impossible for removal teams to keep up. David Mitchell has watched the rubbish pile up at Werakata National Park, which borders his property at Sawyers Gully, near Abermain, spotting at least 40 piles of dumped waste within metres of his property. "Across the whole park it would be more like 300 or 400. Old beds, mattresses, cars, car parts, household garbage, anything disgusting you can think of you'll find, including old meat from a butcher," he said. Mr Mitchell's main concern is piles of broken asbestos, which have sat unremoved for years, posing a serious health threat. "There's one pile that has been there for more than five years, another for at least three," he said.
National Parks Hunter range manager Grahame Smith said asbestos removal was a time-consuming process, with the high cost of qualified contractors often not within the service's budget. Cessnock City Council planning director Darryl Fitzgerald said a blitz in May had highlighted the scale of illegal dumping, with 196 dump sites found in the Cessnock local government area over two days, 56 of which had asbestos. He said it was safe to assume that there were many more dump sites. Dumpers have been warned of the serious consequences if caught, with an illegal dumper in Cessnock facing $76,000 in court fees, and a hefty fine yet to come. Mr Smith said fences had been erected in areas to restrict vehicle access and dumping. He urged dumpers to pay for the tip, as the cost is ultimately returned to them. "When we clean up we have to pay the same tip fees that they would, and in the end, for the tip, the fences and the staff, it all comes back to tax payers' money," he said. Unable to keep up with rubbish removal, rangers now concentrate on identifying and prosecuting culprits. * Newcastle Herald
Ed Comment; This is a problem thats occuring all over the Country, as Councils make it ever more difficult for residents to dispose of rubbish. Increased tip fees, shorter hours, anything to save a few dollars, when our rates are supposed to provide rubbish collection and removal services anyway. Next time you visit the Tip or Transfer Station, have look at the signs. No parking, No entry, No open footwear, Dump here, Don't dump here, Dont walk on the grass, Dont put cardboard here, Or there, ....whatever activity you name .....and there is sign telling you not to do it! And the people skills of some of the employees leaves a lot to be desired, we actually know of a very quiet and gentle senior citizen who became involved in a fist fight with one of the Tip employees. So almost wherever you travel in Australia in any bush area, rubbish can be found dumped. One of the big issues is garden weeds. As Councils start to charge fees for dumping green waste which used to be free, more and more is being dumped in forests and bush areas, where the weeds spread, and often smother native vegetation. Morning Glory, Rubbervine, and Madiera Vine are only a few examples. It's not entirely the fault of those who dump in the bush, bad as that is, but Councils need to take their share of responsibility too, and make it easier, and not harder to residents dump rubbish. After all, we've already paid for the service in our Rates.
Wildlife Fights Back
There's nothing like a cute endangered animal to throw a spanner in the works of giant development projects. Just ask the owners of the long-delayed plan for a wind farm at Bald Hills, in Victoria. Perceived risk to the orange-bellied parrot -- not seen at the site for 50 years -- delayed the $220million project for almost two years before it was used by a federal environment minister to block the unpopular project. That decision was later overturned. The parrot reared its feathered head again when an environmental assessment for the Brumby government's $3.1billion desalination plant raised concerns about the bird, as well as the giant Gippsland earthworm and the hooded plover, but found these risks could be managed. In South Australia, the giant Australian cuttlefish has long been a thorn in the side of mining giant BHP Billiton.
The company is seeking permission to build a desalination plant at Point Lowly, in the upper Spencer Gulf, to provide water to its expanded Olympic Dam operation. But opposition to the plant is strong, with environmentalists and locals concerned its briny discharge would flow towards the only known breeding ground of the giant cuttlefish. This month, a parliamentary committee recommended BHP investigate other sites. Meanwhile, the threatened flatback turtle and other animals potentially stand in the way of Western Australia's $50bn Gorgon gas deal, but probably not for long. As the turtle has rookeries on Barrow Island, near the Gorgon and Jansz gas fields, Environment Minister Peter Garrett will have to carefully consider its fate before giving his tick to the project. His WA counterpart has already ruled there is minimal risk. *Australian
Ed. Comment; As we all know, communities shouldn't have to do this. That's what Governments are for, to ensure these developments are safe, and impose zero harm to wildlfie. but the system is well and truly broken. With the multinationals funding political election campaigns, wildlife has little chance of having any protection from our politicians.
Help Save Wildlife Help two birds with one book – Bag a bargain and help save our wildlife!In this current economic climate, we are all looking for ways to save money, and for us, fundraising to save wildlife. We would like to offer you a deal that can help two birds with one book! For just $60, you will get the best discount booklet out: ‘The Entertainment Book’ where you can save on dining, movie tickets, doughnuts, sporting events and travel… and $12 from every book goes directly to saving our wildlife!
To order: Call 07 5436 2026, Email info@wildlifewarriors.org.au , pop into the Wildlife Warrior office at Australia Zoo for a sneak peak …we send you the book and your donation will help save innocent lives. You can also share the cost with family/friends/workmates and share the love! Pass this offer on to anyone who loves a bargain! This offer CLOSES 30 AUGUST so get in quick! Thank you for helping save our wildlife! *Network Item
Thinking about Wildlife? Who’s going to watch over our wildlife when you no longer share their World? Well, we are! The Wildlife Protection Association of Australia Inc. will continue to forcefully lobby governments to do better with wildlife management, and by taking them to Court if necessary. We are currently working on developing eLearning projects, so students can become aware of the importance of our wildlife living in a safe and secure natural environment. After you have looked after your family and friends in your Will, think about wildlife. A bequest to the Wildlife Protection Association of Australia Inc. will ensure that we can continue to take a leading role in protecting and conserving our precious wildlife. None of the donations we receive are diverted to "administration". Every dollar we get through bequests or donations for wildlife hits the ground running! Talk to your solicitor, or if writing your own Will, add the words "I bequeath to The Wildlife Protection Association of Australia Inc. for the purpose of protecting wildlife in Australia (a specified sum), or (specified items including land or vehicle), or (the residue of my estate) or (percentage of my estate) free of all duties, and the receipt of the President, Secretary or other authorised WPAA officer for the time being shall be a complete and sufficient discharge for the executor(s)." You can also phone me for a confidential chat, as to how a bequest can help us work to protect our wildlife, when you are no longer able to. * Pat O’Brien, WPAA 07 54941890
Kangaroos - Faces in the Mob! (We recently ran out od stock of this very popular magical DVD, but now have new supplies in! Buy Now! Buy Now!....before we run out again!)
On the east coast of Australia lies a valley of magical beauty, surrounded by mountains and shrouded in mists during winter. In these idyllic surroundings live a mob of wild Eastern Grey Kangaroos whose society is rich and complex. Faces in the mob is an engaging true story of life within this one mob of Australian wild Eastern Grey Kangaroos.
For two years, award-winning Australian filmmakers Dr. Jan Aldenhoven and Glen Carruthers lived with this mob. Hear their compelling account of the world of these captivating marsupials where each animal has its own personality. Buy the DVD now with Paypal...$29.95 Au includes free postage in Australia.
http://www.kangaroo-protection-coalition.com/kangaroos-facesinthemob.html
Follow the destinies of two lovable joeys - a female named Sunshade whose mother is conscientious and successful, and Jaffa, a little male full of pluck and courage whose mother is absent-minded. And witness everything from birth to the dramatic and sometimes deadly battles between adult males.
Never before has the richness and complexity of the kangaroo society and the daily drama of their family life been revealed in such stunning detail. Superbly photographed, this beautiful story of Australia's most famous animal will captivate you from beginning to end. This is the best documentary about our beloved kangaroos that has ever been produced. Profits from sales of the DVD go to help the Kangaroo Protection Coalition to campaign for the protection of our beautiful kangaroos.
Buy the DVD now with $34.95 Au Paypal for International postage delivery. http://www.kangaroo-protection-coalition.com/kangaroos-facesinthemob.html
This DVD would make a great "All Year Round" present!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Wildlife Bytes 18/8/09
Wildlife Mini-Bytes.....
Climate Change
If anyone ever thought that our polticians were capable of good governance, the latest debacle over Climate Change response should be a real wakeup call. It took 30 years of lobbying before politicians would even talk about Climate Change, now it looks like it may another 30 years before any positive changes will be made to realistically reduce the release of Greenhouse Gases. As always with environmental issues, "economics" again has got in the way of developing a good response. With Climate Change we only get one chance to fix things, and it must now be obvious to everyone that our Governments are not up to the challenge. * WPAA
Wildfires Threaten Orangutans
Raging fires have broken out in the peat-swamp forests of Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, threatening the largest population of orangutans in the world. The fires were started by people but have spread uncontrollably due to the extreme drought that Borneo is currently experiencing as a result of El Niño conditions. Read more...http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0816-moses_borneo.html
Sharks
It is difficult to believe in this day in age, with all that we know about sharks' plummeting populations, their critical role in ocean ecosystems and the minimal risk they pose to humans, that the archaic and destructive practice of installing shark nets for "bather protection" still exists. But in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, a province ironically known around the world as one of the few places left where sharks and the ecosystems they keep healthy still thrive, untold numbers of harmless sharks, turtles, dolphins, and rays meet an untimely and senseless death each year by entanglement in the approximately 28 kilometres of ‘shark' nets that are installed just off the beaches. *Wildlife Extra, read more....http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/shark-nets.html
Kangaroo Kill
The Albury RSPCA says the people responsible for killing a kangaroo could face harsh fines or prison if caught. An Ettamogah resident this week found the kangaroo dead in a dam with three metal arrows in its body. The RSPCA's district inspector, Lionel Smith, believes the animal was deliberately targeted and left to die. He says it is illegal to kill kangaroos without a permit. "It's just a cruelty factor, with culling kangaroos you usually have a marksman with a high-powered rifle, they have to be humanely destroyed," he said. "In this instance this roo could have had an arrow in it and travelled hundreds of metres before getting to the dam, it could have had three arrows in it and then gone to the dam for refuge and died in the dam, so it would have been a very painful death." *ABC
Kangaroos Eating out Poor Farmers Again
While it is okay for Parks Victoria to have healthy populations of kangaroos in their parks and reserves, it is extremely disappointing to see hundreds of kangaroos feeding every evening in drought-stricken farmers' paddocks. Many of these farmers have been forced to sell most of their own stock and are buying expensive hay and grain to feed the few animals they have left while Parks Victoria's kangaroos are eating the farmers' grass. These kangaroos that have left the bushlands to seek feed are a danger on the roads to both motorists and the kangaroos themselves, and you must wonder how long before they cause a serious accident. If Parks Victoria can not control their kangaroo population then perhaps it is time Parks Victoria seriously considered supplying supplementary feed to the kangaroos in their parks and reserves instead of hand passing their problem to neighbouring farmers. *G. Barwick, a letter to Country News
Exxon Again
Exxon Mobil Corp. pleaded guilty in federal court in Denver to killing at least 85 protected waterfowl, hawks and owls in five states over the past five years, the Department of Justice announced today. The birds died from exposure to natural gas well reserve pits and waste water storage facilities at Exxon Mobil drilling and production facilities in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming between 2004 and 2009. Under the plea agreement reached yesterday with DOJ, the company will pay $600,000, as well as make changes to prevent related deaths in the future. Exxon told the court it has already spent $2.5 million on the effort. *New York Times
Big Fish
A popular Darwin lake has been closed after a monster fish attacked a woman bather. Territorians love it when the fish are biting, but not like this. Darwin City Council has flown into action after the saucy snapper's attack, and is closing Lake Alexander for two days, starting tomorrow, while workers try to find and remove the large fish - and a few of its mates. A delinquent cod with a big mouth is believed to be the most likely offender. DCC chief executive Brendan Dowd said the woman got the fishy fright last month as she stood in the shallows of the popular lake. ''It had her toes and the front of her foot in its mouth - so it was a big fish,'' he said. 'The lady looked down, (got a) shock, and jumped.''Mr Dowd said the woman reported the incident to council about 10 days afterwards. 'She said she had minor lacerations, scratches and a bit of bruising.'' As a result, the council decided to remove some of the larger fish as a safety precaution, Mr Dowd said. 'Our thinking is if it has the capacity to put a woman's foot in its mouth, let's take the larger fish out and relocate them into the ocean.'' Council workers will be using long-lines and nets to catch them, and Mr Dowd is confident they will collar the criminal cod. Council intends to distribute photos of the felonious fish, once he's caught, to prove the nibbler has been nabbed. *NT News
Ed Comment; Moral of this story is that one should never go into the water in the NT....this time it was only a fish....
Shooting and Hunting
Documents obtained by the Sydney Morning Herald under Freedom of Information shows that the NSW Game Council issued 9000 hunting licences across the state between 2006 and 2007 and that 6000 feral animals were shot (0.5 pest animals per hunter per year). At the same time, one three-day cull by the Department of Environment and Climate Change resulted in 3000 feral pigs being culled, illustrating how much more effective departmental teams were than the Game Council in ridding the state of feral animals.Read More..... http://theland.farmonline.com.au/news/state/agribusiness-and-general/general/rees-stuck-as-shooters-refuse-to-give-an-inch/1597322.aspx?storypage=0
Camels
The Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) says responsible and humane control of feral camels in outback Australia is vital because they are posing a major threat to rare and endangered wildlife. The CRC is involved with planning the cull - which has recently won Federal Government funding. Managing director Jan Ferguson says there are more than a million camels in desert regions. She says the control effort is still in the very early planning stages, so it is too early to know how it will be done. "Australia has long accepted that we've got a problem with rabbits because they are in everybody's country - camels tend to be isolated in the bush, so they're not so visible," she said. "All of those things will be dealt with as the process moves forward. "No-one is going to be inhumanely shoot animals - the whole issue of whether they are 'shot to waste' - all of those things need to be worked through." *ABC
Weasels
A Chinese man says his family are being harassed by a vengeful weasel after he caught its mate. Zhang, 28, of Wuchang, eastern China's Hubei province, says the weasel continuously leaves dead mice in his home and poos on his table. He says it all started when he was awoken one night by weasels in his home, reports the Wuhan Evening Post. "They had eaten most of the meat I had hung on the wall so I took a stick to beat them. The female was caught in a mouse trap, while the male escaped up the chimney." Zhang's wife released the female in the mountains the following morning and it was never seen again. "What I didn't expect is that from the very next night, the escaped male weasel came back to harass us," added Zhang. "It excretes on tables, and even throws dead mice corpses into our home. The scariest thing was when it jumped onto our bed, screaming. It seems to be protesting at me for catching his wife." *Network
Wildlife Trafficking
Authorities taking part in a major wildlife smuggling investigation have seized two boa constrictors from a house in Perth's northern suburbs. The snakes were found at a house in Quinns Rocks along with two native bearded dragons and two geckos. David Mell from the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) says boa constrictors pose a serious threat to local fauna and would be as big a pest as cane toads if they became established in Australia. "They have a very wide environment and climatic tolerance plus they have the potential to carry disease, which could be transferable to our native pythons," he said. Mr Mell says a decision is yet to be made about what to do with the snakes. "Our first option is to endeavour to place them in a secure facility, but if that's not possible they may have to be euthanised because of the risk that they represent," he said. He says keeping boa constrictors is a serious offence. "Charges are expected both from customs, under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, which carries very significant penalties - fines of up to $110,000 or 10 years in jail," he said. *ABC
Kenya Lions
The Kenya Wildlife Service announced Monday that Kenya's lion population has dropped an average of 100 lions a year since 2002, which could mean the big cats might become extinct in two decades. The organization's spokesman Paul Udoto told AFP that cattle herders who kill lions in retaliation for attacks on their stock have been blamed for a big chunk of the decline. Udoto said that habitat destruction, disease and the rising human population has also played a role in dropping the lion population from 2,749 seven years ago to the current figure of 2,000. *Reorbit.com
Flying Foxes
Scientists are still stumped about how flying foxes transmit the deadly Hendra virus to horses. Pathologist Deborah Middleton, the lead Hendra researcher at the CSIRO's Australian Animal Health Laboratory in Geelong, said that despite 15 years of study, there were aspects of the virus that still baffled scientists. The first known outbreak of the disease was in 1994, in the Brisbane suburb of Hendra, when horse trainer Vic Rail and 14 horses died. All six of the world's known human cases of the Hendra virus have occurred in Queensland; three of those were fatal. Dr Middleton said researchers did not know exactly how the virus was passed from flying foxes to horses and then from horses to humans. "We suspect that it's in the (flying fox) urine, but we're not absolutely certain," she said. "I think that may well remain a puzzle for quite some time yet because we know so little about bats and how they handle disease. "We do know that the most likely route of transmission from horses (to humans and other horses) is nasal secretions. That seems to be where the virus is shed for a reasonably long period of time before it dies from the disease." However, Dr Middleton said that in a dying horse with Hendra, every secretion -- including saliva, urine, faeces and blood -- was potentially infectious. *Australian
NSW report finds shooting flying foxes "unacceptable" In a victory for environmental groups, the NSW Environment Minister Carmel Tebbutt today released a report which found shooting flying foxes foxes to protect fruit crops is "unacceptable." The report found that any culling contributed to the decline of a the grey headed flying fox, a species listed under state and federal law as vulnerable to extinction and recommended the practice stop immediately. "The animal welfare issues that result from shooting as a method ofmitigating crop damage caused by flying foxes are unacceptable ethically and legally," stated the independent report by the NSW Flying-fox Licensing Review Panel. The report concluded that shooting was ineffective when the flying foxes were in large numbers and that netting of crops was a viable alternative.
A complete ban on the shooting of flying foxes was introduced in Queensland last year after a similar report there found the practice was inhumane and ineffective at preventing damage to crops. Nick Edards, a spokesman from the anti culling group Bat Advocacy said shooting the animals was cruel and inhumane. "There are no Standard Operating Procedures that can make shooting humane; shooting will always take place at night, in a tree-filled environment that creates very limited lines of sight for the shooter," Mr Edards said. "This means that there will be animals that are not killed outright and that will die as a result of their wounds, infection or starvation over the following days".
The NSW report increases the pressure of the Minster to intervene and end the practice. "The Government will now commission a detailed economic analysis examiningsome of the options outlined in the report," Ms Tebbutt said. "We need to make sure we have the best possible arrangements in place that take into account community concerns and the protected status of flying foxes, while at the same time not imposing unreasonable hardship on farmers," Ms Tebbutt said. The Department of Environment released the report today as the deadline for a decision on a Freedom of Information request by a coalition of environment groups expired and in the face of growing pressure to end the practice which is banned elsewhere in Australia.
Environment groups have campaigned for years to put an end to the practice of shooting flying foxes and welcomed the reports findings. Mr Edards said the Minister and Department of Environment had no choice but to put an end to the shooting of flying foxes. "Shooting takes place during the birthing season," he said. "The young, known as pups, are left in the camp while the mothers are foraging. If a mother is shot and cannot get back to her offspring, the pup will starve to death. "Under any other circumstances, causing an animal to starve to death would be an act of cruelty punishable under law." The main species of flying foxes currently being culled annually in NSW, the grey headed flying fox is listed as vulnerable to extinction under state and federal threatened species legislation.
The NSW Farmers association and Primary industries minister Ian McDonald have lobbied to allow culling to continue to protect fruit crops damaged by the flying foxes. Environmental groups have advocated subsidised netting. Ms Tebbut said a consultant will be chosen shortly to begin research into the economic implications of a ban on shooting the animals, which is expected to be delivered by the end of the year. "Currently, the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water can issue a limited number of licences to farmers who can demonstrate damage to their property,' Ms Tebbutt said. "This final report from the independent review panel will provide input intothe development of a new policy for the management flying foxes. In the interim, licensing arrangements will be maintained and the Government will put in place upgraded protocols to improve animal welfare." *Network Item
Ed. Comment; Not surprisingly, after a hendra virus scare in Central Queensland last week, GrowCom yesterday again criticised the Queensland government's "sudden" ban last year on issuing any more permits to shoot flyings foxes. Meanwhile a poll on the Courier Mail asking wether flying foxes should be "culled", showed as of Sunday night 366 votes: 11%, voted yes for culling, 89%, voted no culling. Only around 450 people responded to the survey.......possibly their entire readership base, :o) In a survey of 5 people in the Sunshine Coast Daily last week, 3 supported a "cull" to protect people from Hendra virus.
State Government scientists have discovered that the deadly Hendra virus is different from region to region in Queensland, with fears that it could mutate into an even more dangerous form. Primary Industries Minister Tim Mulherin said researchers had been collecting bat urine for testing following an outbreak of Hendra virus at a horse stud east of Rockhampton last week. Authorities had confirmed that a second horse that died at the property a week ago had the virus. One horse remains sick and will undergo further testing. Queensland Health said that 18 people who had been exposed to the virus received preliminary clearance on Friday after the first round of tests. But a second round of testing was needed before they could be given the all clear. The incubation period was one to two weeks. Four of the 18 were in hospital undergoing experimental drug treatment.
Mr Mulherin said yesterday that DPI scientists were trying to discover as much about the virus as quickly as possible. "Over the last few years scientists have noticed a variation in the genetic make-up of Hendra," he said. "One theory was that the virus was mutating – possibly into a form which could spread more easily, making it more dangerous. "But now our scientists believe the virus isn't mutating, but rather it varies slightly according to location and bat movements." Mr Mulherin said the virus in north Queensland was different to the virus in southeast Queensland. "We expect to find that the virus in central Queensland is slightly different again," he said.
Researchers went to a flying fox colony at Yeppoon early Friday and Saturday to collect genetic material from bat urine. "They've been placing plastic sheets beneath the colony at first light to collect bat urine, which is then tested for Hendra. "We know that 50 to 60 per cent of flying foxes have Hendra antibodies – meaning at some stage of their lives they've had the virus," Mr Mulherin said. Biosecurity Queensland principal veterinary epidemiologist Hume Field warned that habitat destruction and climate change could result in more incidents of Hendra virus. "It's believed that horses catch the virus by eating pasture or feed contaminated with bat urine or other infected bodily fluids," Dr Hume said. "We know that stressed flying foxes are more likely to have Hendra." Courier Mail
Wild Dogs
A new direction for wild dog coordination. A Wild Dog Advisory Committee is being established to bring together the key stakeholders and oversee the implementation of the wild dog strategy in Queensland. Taking a lead in Queensland livestock predator management is newly appointed wild dog coordinator John Cuskelly. This is an action arising from the independent wild dog management review undertaken by former AgForce president Peter Kenny and instigated by Premier Anna Bligh. "This is not going to be an easy, but through good communication and working with industry and local producers improved outcomes will be delivered," said the Premier.Minister for Primary Industries, Fisheries and Rural and Regional Queensland Tim Mulherin said Mr Cuskelly brings a wealth of personal and professional experience to the wild dog committee. "For more than 20 years, he worked for Queensland Primary Industries and Fish eries as a biosecurity inspector in Gympie, Toowoomba and as a principal inspector in Longreach," the Minister said. "He has also worked throughout Queensland and the Northern Territory in various roles, including biosecurity, education and grazing. "His most recent position was as the Australian Agricultural College Corporation's (AACC) commercial training co-ordinator in Dalby. "Mr Cuskelly will work with the committee to coordinate the statewide effort on wild dog control with land owners, natural resource management groups and local governments." Mr Cuskelly said managing the wild dog issue requires a strong commitment from local government, industry, landholders and the community. "I'll work with landholders, local government and stakeholder groups to implement a strategic plan in dealing with the wild dog problem," he said. "Wild dogs don't just affect individual properties, they affect communities across Qu eensland. "I'll ensure landholders have access to the latest research and control methods and that rural communities understand the best outcomes will be delivered by a coordinated approach."
Mr Mulherin said Biosecurity Queensland already spends $1.75 million a year on the wild dog control, including management of the Wild Dog Barrier Fence and research into wild dogs. "Our researchers tracked almost 50 wild dogs, using sophisticated GPS satellite technology, for up to 10 months to gain new insights into how far they disperse from where they were born," he said. "Wild dogs can travel extraordinary distances in a short period of time, up to 1300km within weeks. "The research suggested the timing and frequency of baiting needed to be reviewed. "The most obvious problem for primary producers is how to protect livestock from wild dogs when they travel hundreds of kilometres. "Wild dogs are likely to be several pr operties away before stock losses are noticed and control methods can begin." The Minister said landowners have long been advised to coordinate their baiting efforts during the mating period from April to June, when wild dogs appear more active and are more visible. "However, research indicates they travel just as far during other times of the year," he said. "Baiting may be more effective when the juvenile dogs begin to leave their pack in search of their own territory, from November to May. "QPIF researchers also believe follow-up baiting programs a couple of weeks apart during summer may be more beneficial than baiting once or twice each year. "Research like this is critical to improving methods of wild dog control." *DPI Media Release
Ed Comment; They wont stop with the poison until every dingo is dead!
New Laws
Mining and development groups have condemned proposed fines of up to $1.1 million for destroying indigenous heritage in NSW, saying the new laws are unfair, will hold up development and could mean innocent company directors would be prosecuted. Planned changes to the National Parks and Wildlife Act would make it an offence for anyone unknowingly to harm indigenous objects or sites without a permit, unless they can show they have exercised ''due diligence'' to ensure harm is unlikely. Maximum penalties would rise to $110,000 or six months' jail for individuals and $220,000 for corporations that unknowingly harm objects - and more for those who knowingly do so. Indigenous and environmental groups have applauded the increased penalties and the introduction of ''strict liability'' for destroying artefacts and sites, but said a long list of loopholes would make the new laws toothless. Miners and developers disagree. The NSW Minerals Council says there is no justification for the higher penalties and no evidence that the existing laws are not working.
In a submission, it argues for only ''significant'' objects to be protected and for mining companies to be allowed to negotiate with local Aboriginal groups with minimal government interference. The Urban Taskforce, which represents developers, says the laws ''turn the normal principles of land use law on their head'' and are ''unprecedented both in NSW and in comparable jurisdictions''. It argues that the laws will ''unnecessarily and inappropriately increase the risk of engaging in greenfield land development'' and wants only objects with ''particular significance'' that are more than 100 years old to be protected. The Urban Development Institute of Australia, which also represents developers, says the due diligence defence should apply to company directors, who are exposed to prosecution in the proposed laws. The institute wants a single process to produce a permit to harm heritage that is transferable with the land - and it wants permits that apply to entire precincts. Indigenous and environmental groups have called for a complete overhaul of laws in a separate bill that distinguishes them from flora and fauna legislation. *SMH
Wildlife Trade
Selangau, in central Sarawak, has been des-cribed as a “one-stop centre” for those looking to buy wildlife. Located about an hour’s drive from Sibu, this bazaar-town has restaurants serving up dishes containing boar, venison, flying bats and monitor lizards, amongst other delicacies. Together with Serikin on the Sarawak-West Kalimantan border town, these two areas are hotspots for the illegal wildlife trade. “Illegal trading of wildlife is also going on in other places,” said Sarawak Forestry Corpo-ration chief wildlife warden Wilfred Landong. The state authorities have listed 21 species of mammals, 26 species of birds and five species of reptiles as protected animals. Another 40 are listed as protected mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and invertebrates, Landong said during a presentation of the corporation’s honorary wildlife ranger programme held at the Kuching Hilton yesterday. Some 330 newly-appointed honorary wildlife rangers, most of them community leaders and timber camp managers, attended the event.
The rangers are to report to wildlife offices or the police on any contravention of the Wildlife Ordinance. They would also educate the locals on wildlife conservation. Landong said besides stepping up enforcement activities to curb illegal wildlife trade, the corporation also carried out public outreach campaign on the importance of wildlife conservation. The corporation had initiated a pilot wildlife eco-tourism project that enabled tourists to cruise along the Bako River near here to view crocodiles at night. Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu, who officiated the event, said the wildlife population has dropped because the people have taken them for granted. “Despite its importance, our insensitive actions are eroding this wildlife population at a dangerous rate,” he added. Jabu said to overcome the current destructive trends of wildlife and the over-use of biodiversity, it was important to educate the public on conservation. *StarOnline
Fraser Island
The State Government will close 18km of beach to 4WDs on the southern end of Fraser Island to protect migratory shorebirds 18 years after it was first recommended. But there's a catch – it does not know when the ban will be implemented. Sustainability Minister Kate Jones said yesterday the closure on the 124km-long island was to allow the shorebirds to roost unhindered by traffic. "Independent consultants have advised us that it will cost about $2 million to upgrade the (inland) road and about $1.3 million per annum in maintenance," Ms Jones said. Currently we don't have the ability to do that but it remains our intention, given the beach is a key area for birds." Former environment ministers Lindy Nelson-Carr and Desley Boyle had planned to ban 4WDs from the foreshore. Apart from birds it was meant to be a safe area for families. Camp grounds had already been built when then member for Hervey Bay Andrew McNamara became sustainability minister in 2007. He reneged on the deal to stem electoral damage from 4WD owners who campaigned for all beaches to remain open to vehicles. He lost the seat regardless.
If the beach was closed, it would mean people alighting from barges on the southern tip of the island would travel the first 18km by road before accessing the beach. Birds Queensland president and Fraser Island World Heritage Area Community Advisory Committee member Mike West urged Ms Jones to pressure Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett to help with funding to ensure the road was upgraded as soon as possible. "This is a great thing she's done but it's time the Feds honoured their obligations under international treaties to protect migratory shorebirds," Mr West said. "The southern beach is really the only spot where these birds gather in large numbers. "This road used to be bitumen, so it's not like this is something new and the beach has got a lot of erosion, so it's becoming dangerous anyway." Ms Jones could give no firm date when the ban would start but it appears to be late next year at the earliest as she must seek funds in coming budgets. She said about $600,000 had already been spent maintaining the old road. *Courier Mail
Endangered Species Written Off! The Federal Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, has warned that money to save endangered wildlife is limited and some species may have to be abandoned when funding decisions are made. In one of the strongest speeches of his ministerial career he told an international conference of ecologists in Brisbane that the Government will shift its focus to protecting ''ecosystems'', rather than putting money into individual projects for endangered animals. Mr Garrett's speech follows a report by the Department of Climate Change that found global warming would severely threaten many native species. Mr Garrett said the current system of funding on an animal-by-animal basis was the equivalent of paramedics waiting at the bottom of a hill performing ''triage'' on those who fall down. 'Australia has 1750 species now on the threatened list,'' he said. ''And while … we will have to act in an urgent way from time to time to prevent their extinction, it won't always be effective to keep tackling them one by one.''
Mr Garrett has already signalled his intentions with substantial budget injections to the national reserves system and new marine conservation zones. At present Australia registers species on endangered lists based on the advice of the Threatened Species Scientific Committee. The minister then decides whether he will fund a ''recovery program'' for that species based on its chance of success. Mr Garrett discussed his recent decision to fund a recovery program for an endangered bat on Christmas Island and whether he could afford to spend the money given the animal's low chance of recovery. He asked the scientists to help policy makers and the community ''understand what is required in terms of public policy, resources and priorities''. He said his new approach was one of a ''clear-sighted pragmatist''. Mr Garrett also pre-empted claims of future budget constraints on environmental spending by saying the financial crisis was the best time to address such issues because he was ''sufficiently aware that our wellbeing is inextricably linked to the health of our natural ecosystems''.
Averil Bones, policy director for the WWF, said moving to a broader protection program would require more money in next year's budget. She said Australia could not protect only existing ecosystems as most were under severe threat, and the environment had to be restored through revegetation programs and species protection. Phil Gibbons, a senior fellow at the ANU's Fenner School of Environment and Society, said focusing on ecosystems was the most cost-effective approach to saving animals. But he said Mr Garrett had recently spent large amounts on programs for politically popular animals, including $10 million to help save the Tasmanian devil. Mr Gibbons added that Mr Garrett and the Rudd Government had not yet been prepared to have a debate about ''the links between economic growth and the damage we are doing to our natural ecosystems''. SMH
Kangaroos Shot
Two disturbing acts of animal cruelty in Wellington shire are the focus of police investigations, with several kangaroos run down and shot at Darriman and a deer injured at Loch Sport. Police have charged three men and interviewed a teenager after four kangaroos were injured at Jack Smith Lake Game Reserve on Thursday night. The men were arrested on Friday morning at about 11am after they were found with a stolen tractor in the reserve on Middle Rd. A 21-year-old man from Athlone has been charged with theft of a motor vehicle, criminal damage, possessing a firearm while unlicensed and cruelty to animals offences. He has been bailed to appear at the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court on September 15. A 20-year-old Drouin South man is expected to be charged on summons for permitting an unlicensed person to posses a firearm, hunting in a game reserve out of season and hunting protected animals. An 18-year-old Warrigal man is expected to be charged on summons for cruelty to animals.
The Department of Sustainability and Environment is assisting police with their investigations. Police allege the men were running over kangaroos in their ute at the reserve between 9pm and 11pm on Thursday. It is also alleged the men were shooting at mobs of kangaroos but police are unsure if any were injured. Police said the ute the men were travelling in became bogged in the mud while they were out on the reserve and they allegedly stole a tractor from a nearby property. Further charges are pending for other wildlife offences. The Darriman kangaroo attacks follow on from an incident in Loch Sport almost two months ago where hoons killed two kangaroos while ripping up the fairways of the Loch Sport Golf Course.
Meanwhile police and DSE are worried about the welfare of a deer seen wandering around Loch Sport in recent weeks with an arrow sticking out of its neck. Police are investigating a possible case of illegal hunting of deer using a bow and arrow close to the town. The deer has been sighted several times and police and DSE wildlife officers are trying to find the hog deer to determine if it can be treated or if it needs to be put down. It is believed the deer has had the arrow stuck in its neck for more than two weeks. The last sighting of the deer was on Thursday afternoon on Loch Sport Rd 500m out of town. Anyone who has seen the deer is asked to contact Sale police on 51435000. *Gippsland Times
Help Save Wildlife Help two birds with one book – Bag a bargain and help save our wildlife!In this current economic climate, we are all looking for ways to save money, and for us, fundraising to save wildlife. We would like to offer you a deal that can help two birds with one book! For just $60, you will get the best discount booklet out: ‘The Entertainment Book’ where you can save on dining, movie tickets, doughnuts, sporting events and travel… and $12 from every book goes directly to saving our wildlife!
To order: Call 07 5436 2026, Email info@wildlifewarriors.org.au , pop into the Wildlife Warrior office at Australia Zoo for a sneak peak …we send you the book and your donation will help save innocent lives. You can also share the cost with family/friends/workmates and share the love! Pass this offer on to anyone who loves a bargain! This offer CLOSES 30 AUGUST so get in quick! Thank you for helping save our wildlife! *Network Item
Thinking about Wildlife? Who’s going to watch over our wildlife when you no longer share their World? Well, we are! The Wildlife Protection Association of Australia Inc. will continue to forcefully lobby governments to do better with wildlife management, and by taking them to Court if necessary. We are currently working on developing eLearning projects, so students can become aware of the importance of our wildlife living in a safe and secure natural environment. After you have looked after your family and friends in your Will, think about wildlife. A bequest to the Wildlife Protection Association of Australia Inc. will ensure that we can continue to take a leading role in protecting and conserving our precious wildlife. None of the donations we receive are diverted to "administration". Every dollar we get through bequests or donations for wildlife hits the ground running! Talk to your solicitor, or if writing your own Will, add the words "I bequeath to The Wildlife Protection Association of Australia Inc. for the purpose of protecting wildlife in Australia (a specified sum), or (specified items including land or vehicle), or (the residue of my estate) or (percentage of my estate) free of all duties, and the receipt of the President, Secretary or other authorised WPAA officer for the time being shall be a complete and sufficient discharge for the executor(s)." You can also phone me for a confidential chat, as to how a bequest can help us work to protect our wildlife, when you are no longer able to. * Pat O’Brien, WPAA 07 54941890
Climate Change
If anyone ever thought that our polticians were capable of good governance, the latest debacle over Climate Change response should be a real wakeup call. It took 30 years of lobbying before politicians would even talk about Climate Change, now it looks like it may another 30 years before any positive changes will be made to realistically reduce the release of Greenhouse Gases. As always with environmental issues, "economics" again has got in the way of developing a good response. With Climate Change we only get one chance to fix things, and it must now be obvious to everyone that our Governments are not up to the challenge. * WPAA
Wildfires Threaten Orangutans
Raging fires have broken out in the peat-swamp forests of Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, threatening the largest population of orangutans in the world. The fires were started by people but have spread uncontrollably due to the extreme drought that Borneo is currently experiencing as a result of El Niño conditions. Read more...http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0816-moses_borneo.html
Sharks
It is difficult to believe in this day in age, with all that we know about sharks' plummeting populations, their critical role in ocean ecosystems and the minimal risk they pose to humans, that the archaic and destructive practice of installing shark nets for "bather protection" still exists. But in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, a province ironically known around the world as one of the few places left where sharks and the ecosystems they keep healthy still thrive, untold numbers of harmless sharks, turtles, dolphins, and rays meet an untimely and senseless death each year by entanglement in the approximately 28 kilometres of ‘shark' nets that are installed just off the beaches. *Wildlife Extra, read more....http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/shark-nets.html
Kangaroo Kill
The Albury RSPCA says the people responsible for killing a kangaroo could face harsh fines or prison if caught. An Ettamogah resident this week found the kangaroo dead in a dam with three metal arrows in its body. The RSPCA's district inspector, Lionel Smith, believes the animal was deliberately targeted and left to die. He says it is illegal to kill kangaroos without a permit. "It's just a cruelty factor, with culling kangaroos you usually have a marksman with a high-powered rifle, they have to be humanely destroyed," he said. "In this instance this roo could have had an arrow in it and travelled hundreds of metres before getting to the dam, it could have had three arrows in it and then gone to the dam for refuge and died in the dam, so it would have been a very painful death." *ABC
Kangaroos Eating out Poor Farmers Again
While it is okay for Parks Victoria to have healthy populations of kangaroos in their parks and reserves, it is extremely disappointing to see hundreds of kangaroos feeding every evening in drought-stricken farmers' paddocks. Many of these farmers have been forced to sell most of their own stock and are buying expensive hay and grain to feed the few animals they have left while Parks Victoria's kangaroos are eating the farmers' grass. These kangaroos that have left the bushlands to seek feed are a danger on the roads to both motorists and the kangaroos themselves, and you must wonder how long before they cause a serious accident. If Parks Victoria can not control their kangaroo population then perhaps it is time Parks Victoria seriously considered supplying supplementary feed to the kangaroos in their parks and reserves instead of hand passing their problem to neighbouring farmers. *G. Barwick, a letter to Country News
Exxon Again
Exxon Mobil Corp. pleaded guilty in federal court in Denver to killing at least 85 protected waterfowl, hawks and owls in five states over the past five years, the Department of Justice announced today. The birds died from exposure to natural gas well reserve pits and waste water storage facilities at Exxon Mobil drilling and production facilities in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming between 2004 and 2009. Under the plea agreement reached yesterday with DOJ, the company will pay $600,000, as well as make changes to prevent related deaths in the future. Exxon told the court it has already spent $2.5 million on the effort. *New York Times
Big Fish
A popular Darwin lake has been closed after a monster fish attacked a woman bather. Territorians love it when the fish are biting, but not like this. Darwin City Council has flown into action after the saucy snapper's attack, and is closing Lake Alexander for two days, starting tomorrow, while workers try to find and remove the large fish - and a few of its mates. A delinquent cod with a big mouth is believed to be the most likely offender. DCC chief executive Brendan Dowd said the woman got the fishy fright last month as she stood in the shallows of the popular lake. ''It had her toes and the front of her foot in its mouth - so it was a big fish,'' he said. 'The lady looked down, (got a) shock, and jumped.''Mr Dowd said the woman reported the incident to council about 10 days afterwards. 'She said she had minor lacerations, scratches and a bit of bruising.'' As a result, the council decided to remove some of the larger fish as a safety precaution, Mr Dowd said. 'Our thinking is if it has the capacity to put a woman's foot in its mouth, let's take the larger fish out and relocate them into the ocean.'' Council workers will be using long-lines and nets to catch them, and Mr Dowd is confident they will collar the criminal cod. Council intends to distribute photos of the felonious fish, once he's caught, to prove the nibbler has been nabbed. *NT News
Ed Comment; Moral of this story is that one should never go into the water in the NT....this time it was only a fish....
Shooting and Hunting
Documents obtained by the Sydney Morning Herald under Freedom of Information shows that the NSW Game Council issued 9000 hunting licences across the state between 2006 and 2007 and that 6000 feral animals were shot (0.5 pest animals per hunter per year). At the same time, one three-day cull by the Department of Environment and Climate Change resulted in 3000 feral pigs being culled, illustrating how much more effective departmental teams were than the Game Council in ridding the state of feral animals.Read More..... http://theland.farmonline.com.au/news/state/agribusiness-and-general/general/rees-stuck-as-shooters-refuse-to-give-an-inch/1597322.aspx?storypage=0
Camels
The Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) says responsible and humane control of feral camels in outback Australia is vital because they are posing a major threat to rare and endangered wildlife. The CRC is involved with planning the cull - which has recently won Federal Government funding. Managing director Jan Ferguson says there are more than a million camels in desert regions. She says the control effort is still in the very early planning stages, so it is too early to know how it will be done. "Australia has long accepted that we've got a problem with rabbits because they are in everybody's country - camels tend to be isolated in the bush, so they're not so visible," she said. "All of those things will be dealt with as the process moves forward. "No-one is going to be inhumanely shoot animals - the whole issue of whether they are 'shot to waste' - all of those things need to be worked through." *ABC
Weasels
A Chinese man says his family are being harassed by a vengeful weasel after he caught its mate. Zhang, 28, of Wuchang, eastern China's Hubei province, says the weasel continuously leaves dead mice in his home and poos on his table. He says it all started when he was awoken one night by weasels in his home, reports the Wuhan Evening Post. "They had eaten most of the meat I had hung on the wall so I took a stick to beat them. The female was caught in a mouse trap, while the male escaped up the chimney." Zhang's wife released the female in the mountains the following morning and it was never seen again. "What I didn't expect is that from the very next night, the escaped male weasel came back to harass us," added Zhang. "It excretes on tables, and even throws dead mice corpses into our home. The scariest thing was when it jumped onto our bed, screaming. It seems to be protesting at me for catching his wife." *Network
Wildlife Trafficking
Authorities taking part in a major wildlife smuggling investigation have seized two boa constrictors from a house in Perth's northern suburbs. The snakes were found at a house in Quinns Rocks along with two native bearded dragons and two geckos. David Mell from the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) says boa constrictors pose a serious threat to local fauna and would be as big a pest as cane toads if they became established in Australia. "They have a very wide environment and climatic tolerance plus they have the potential to carry disease, which could be transferable to our native pythons," he said. Mr Mell says a decision is yet to be made about what to do with the snakes. "Our first option is to endeavour to place them in a secure facility, but if that's not possible they may have to be euthanised because of the risk that they represent," he said. He says keeping boa constrictors is a serious offence. "Charges are expected both from customs, under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, which carries very significant penalties - fines of up to $110,000 or 10 years in jail," he said. *ABC
Kenya Lions
The Kenya Wildlife Service announced Monday that Kenya's lion population has dropped an average of 100 lions a year since 2002, which could mean the big cats might become extinct in two decades. The organization's spokesman Paul Udoto told AFP that cattle herders who kill lions in retaliation for attacks on their stock have been blamed for a big chunk of the decline. Udoto said that habitat destruction, disease and the rising human population has also played a role in dropping the lion population from 2,749 seven years ago to the current figure of 2,000. *Reorbit.com
Flying Foxes
Scientists are still stumped about how flying foxes transmit the deadly Hendra virus to horses. Pathologist Deborah Middleton, the lead Hendra researcher at the CSIRO's Australian Animal Health Laboratory in Geelong, said that despite 15 years of study, there were aspects of the virus that still baffled scientists. The first known outbreak of the disease was in 1994, in the Brisbane suburb of Hendra, when horse trainer Vic Rail and 14 horses died. All six of the world's known human cases of the Hendra virus have occurred in Queensland; three of those were fatal. Dr Middleton said researchers did not know exactly how the virus was passed from flying foxes to horses and then from horses to humans. "We suspect that it's in the (flying fox) urine, but we're not absolutely certain," she said. "I think that may well remain a puzzle for quite some time yet because we know so little about bats and how they handle disease. "We do know that the most likely route of transmission from horses (to humans and other horses) is nasal secretions. That seems to be where the virus is shed for a reasonably long period of time before it dies from the disease." However, Dr Middleton said that in a dying horse with Hendra, every secretion -- including saliva, urine, faeces and blood -- was potentially infectious. *Australian
NSW report finds shooting flying foxes "unacceptable" In a victory for environmental groups, the NSW Environment Minister Carmel Tebbutt today released a report which found shooting flying foxes foxes to protect fruit crops is "unacceptable." The report found that any culling contributed to the decline of a the grey headed flying fox, a species listed under state and federal law as vulnerable to extinction and recommended the practice stop immediately. "The animal welfare issues that result from shooting as a method ofmitigating crop damage caused by flying foxes are unacceptable ethically and legally," stated the independent report by the NSW Flying-fox Licensing Review Panel. The report concluded that shooting was ineffective when the flying foxes were in large numbers and that netting of crops was a viable alternative.
A complete ban on the shooting of flying foxes was introduced in Queensland last year after a similar report there found the practice was inhumane and ineffective at preventing damage to crops. Nick Edards, a spokesman from the anti culling group Bat Advocacy said shooting the animals was cruel and inhumane. "There are no Standard Operating Procedures that can make shooting humane; shooting will always take place at night, in a tree-filled environment that creates very limited lines of sight for the shooter," Mr Edards said. "This means that there will be animals that are not killed outright and that will die as a result of their wounds, infection or starvation over the following days".
The NSW report increases the pressure of the Minster to intervene and end the practice. "The Government will now commission a detailed economic analysis examiningsome of the options outlined in the report," Ms Tebbutt said. "We need to make sure we have the best possible arrangements in place that take into account community concerns and the protected status of flying foxes, while at the same time not imposing unreasonable hardship on farmers," Ms Tebbutt said. The Department of Environment released the report today as the deadline for a decision on a Freedom of Information request by a coalition of environment groups expired and in the face of growing pressure to end the practice which is banned elsewhere in Australia.
Environment groups have campaigned for years to put an end to the practice of shooting flying foxes and welcomed the reports findings. Mr Edards said the Minister and Department of Environment had no choice but to put an end to the shooting of flying foxes. "Shooting takes place during the birthing season," he said. "The young, known as pups, are left in the camp while the mothers are foraging. If a mother is shot and cannot get back to her offspring, the pup will starve to death. "Under any other circumstances, causing an animal to starve to death would be an act of cruelty punishable under law." The main species of flying foxes currently being culled annually in NSW, the grey headed flying fox is listed as vulnerable to extinction under state and federal threatened species legislation.
The NSW Farmers association and Primary industries minister Ian McDonald have lobbied to allow culling to continue to protect fruit crops damaged by the flying foxes. Environmental groups have advocated subsidised netting. Ms Tebbut said a consultant will be chosen shortly to begin research into the economic implications of a ban on shooting the animals, which is expected to be delivered by the end of the year. "Currently, the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water can issue a limited number of licences to farmers who can demonstrate damage to their property,' Ms Tebbutt said. "This final report from the independent review panel will provide input intothe development of a new policy for the management flying foxes. In the interim, licensing arrangements will be maintained and the Government will put in place upgraded protocols to improve animal welfare." *Network Item
Ed. Comment; Not surprisingly, after a hendra virus scare in Central Queensland last week, GrowCom yesterday again criticised the Queensland government's "sudden" ban last year on issuing any more permits to shoot flyings foxes. Meanwhile a poll on the Courier Mail asking wether flying foxes should be "culled", showed as of Sunday night 366 votes: 11%, voted yes for culling, 89%, voted no culling. Only around 450 people responded to the survey.......possibly their entire readership base, :o) In a survey of 5 people in the Sunshine Coast Daily last week, 3 supported a "cull" to protect people from Hendra virus.
State Government scientists have discovered that the deadly Hendra virus is different from region to region in Queensland, with fears that it could mutate into an even more dangerous form. Primary Industries Minister Tim Mulherin said researchers had been collecting bat urine for testing following an outbreak of Hendra virus at a horse stud east of Rockhampton last week. Authorities had confirmed that a second horse that died at the property a week ago had the virus. One horse remains sick and will undergo further testing. Queensland Health said that 18 people who had been exposed to the virus received preliminary clearance on Friday after the first round of tests. But a second round of testing was needed before they could be given the all clear. The incubation period was one to two weeks. Four of the 18 were in hospital undergoing experimental drug treatment.
Mr Mulherin said yesterday that DPI scientists were trying to discover as much about the virus as quickly as possible. "Over the last few years scientists have noticed a variation in the genetic make-up of Hendra," he said. "One theory was that the virus was mutating – possibly into a form which could spread more easily, making it more dangerous. "But now our scientists believe the virus isn't mutating, but rather it varies slightly according to location and bat movements." Mr Mulherin said the virus in north Queensland was different to the virus in southeast Queensland. "We expect to find that the virus in central Queensland is slightly different again," he said.
Researchers went to a flying fox colony at Yeppoon early Friday and Saturday to collect genetic material from bat urine. "They've been placing plastic sheets beneath the colony at first light to collect bat urine, which is then tested for Hendra. "We know that 50 to 60 per cent of flying foxes have Hendra antibodies – meaning at some stage of their lives they've had the virus," Mr Mulherin said. Biosecurity Queensland principal veterinary epidemiologist Hume Field warned that habitat destruction and climate change could result in more incidents of Hendra virus. "It's believed that horses catch the virus by eating pasture or feed contaminated with bat urine or other infected bodily fluids," Dr Hume said. "We know that stressed flying foxes are more likely to have Hendra." Courier Mail
Wild Dogs
A new direction for wild dog coordination. A Wild Dog Advisory Committee is being established to bring together the key stakeholders and oversee the implementation of the wild dog strategy in Queensland. Taking a lead in Queensland livestock predator management is newly appointed wild dog coordinator John Cuskelly. This is an action arising from the independent wild dog management review undertaken by former AgForce president Peter Kenny and instigated by Premier Anna Bligh. "This is not going to be an easy, but through good communication and working with industry and local producers improved outcomes will be delivered," said the Premier.Minister for Primary Industries, Fisheries and Rural and Regional Queensland Tim Mulherin said Mr Cuskelly brings a wealth of personal and professional experience to the wild dog committee. "For more than 20 years, he worked for Queensland Primary Industries and Fish eries as a biosecurity inspector in Gympie, Toowoomba and as a principal inspector in Longreach," the Minister said. "He has also worked throughout Queensland and the Northern Territory in various roles, including biosecurity, education and grazing. "His most recent position was as the Australian Agricultural College Corporation's (AACC) commercial training co-ordinator in Dalby. "Mr Cuskelly will work with the committee to coordinate the statewide effort on wild dog control with land owners, natural resource management groups and local governments." Mr Cuskelly said managing the wild dog issue requires a strong commitment from local government, industry, landholders and the community. "I'll work with landholders, local government and stakeholder groups to implement a strategic plan in dealing with the wild dog problem," he said. "Wild dogs don't just affect individual properties, they affect communities across Qu eensland. "I'll ensure landholders have access to the latest research and control methods and that rural communities understand the best outcomes will be delivered by a coordinated approach."
Mr Mulherin said Biosecurity Queensland already spends $1.75 million a year on the wild dog control, including management of the Wild Dog Barrier Fence and research into wild dogs. "Our researchers tracked almost 50 wild dogs, using sophisticated GPS satellite technology, for up to 10 months to gain new insights into how far they disperse from where they were born," he said. "Wild dogs can travel extraordinary distances in a short period of time, up to 1300km within weeks. "The research suggested the timing and frequency of baiting needed to be reviewed. "The most obvious problem for primary producers is how to protect livestock from wild dogs when they travel hundreds of kilometres. "Wild dogs are likely to be several pr operties away before stock losses are noticed and control methods can begin." The Minister said landowners have long been advised to coordinate their baiting efforts during the mating period from April to June, when wild dogs appear more active and are more visible. "However, research indicates they travel just as far during other times of the year," he said. "Baiting may be more effective when the juvenile dogs begin to leave their pack in search of their own territory, from November to May. "QPIF researchers also believe follow-up baiting programs a couple of weeks apart during summer may be more beneficial than baiting once or twice each year. "Research like this is critical to improving methods of wild dog control." *DPI Media Release
Ed Comment; They wont stop with the poison until every dingo is dead!
New Laws
Mining and development groups have condemned proposed fines of up to $1.1 million for destroying indigenous heritage in NSW, saying the new laws are unfair, will hold up development and could mean innocent company directors would be prosecuted. Planned changes to the National Parks and Wildlife Act would make it an offence for anyone unknowingly to harm indigenous objects or sites without a permit, unless they can show they have exercised ''due diligence'' to ensure harm is unlikely. Maximum penalties would rise to $110,000 or six months' jail for individuals and $220,000 for corporations that unknowingly harm objects - and more for those who knowingly do so. Indigenous and environmental groups have applauded the increased penalties and the introduction of ''strict liability'' for destroying artefacts and sites, but said a long list of loopholes would make the new laws toothless. Miners and developers disagree. The NSW Minerals Council says there is no justification for the higher penalties and no evidence that the existing laws are not working.
In a submission, it argues for only ''significant'' objects to be protected and for mining companies to be allowed to negotiate with local Aboriginal groups with minimal government interference. The Urban Taskforce, which represents developers, says the laws ''turn the normal principles of land use law on their head'' and are ''unprecedented both in NSW and in comparable jurisdictions''. It argues that the laws will ''unnecessarily and inappropriately increase the risk of engaging in greenfield land development'' and wants only objects with ''particular significance'' that are more than 100 years old to be protected. The Urban Development Institute of Australia, which also represents developers, says the due diligence defence should apply to company directors, who are exposed to prosecution in the proposed laws. The institute wants a single process to produce a permit to harm heritage that is transferable with the land - and it wants permits that apply to entire precincts. Indigenous and environmental groups have called for a complete overhaul of laws in a separate bill that distinguishes them from flora and fauna legislation. *SMH
Wildlife Trade
Selangau, in central Sarawak, has been des-cribed as a “one-stop centre” for those looking to buy wildlife. Located about an hour’s drive from Sibu, this bazaar-town has restaurants serving up dishes containing boar, venison, flying bats and monitor lizards, amongst other delicacies. Together with Serikin on the Sarawak-West Kalimantan border town, these two areas are hotspots for the illegal wildlife trade. “Illegal trading of wildlife is also going on in other places,” said Sarawak Forestry Corpo-ration chief wildlife warden Wilfred Landong. The state authorities have listed 21 species of mammals, 26 species of birds and five species of reptiles as protected animals. Another 40 are listed as protected mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and invertebrates, Landong said during a presentation of the corporation’s honorary wildlife ranger programme held at the Kuching Hilton yesterday. Some 330 newly-appointed honorary wildlife rangers, most of them community leaders and timber camp managers, attended the event.
The rangers are to report to wildlife offices or the police on any contravention of the Wildlife Ordinance. They would also educate the locals on wildlife conservation. Landong said besides stepping up enforcement activities to curb illegal wildlife trade, the corporation also carried out public outreach campaign on the importance of wildlife conservation. The corporation had initiated a pilot wildlife eco-tourism project that enabled tourists to cruise along the Bako River near here to view crocodiles at night. Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu, who officiated the event, said the wildlife population has dropped because the people have taken them for granted. “Despite its importance, our insensitive actions are eroding this wildlife population at a dangerous rate,” he added. Jabu said to overcome the current destructive trends of wildlife and the over-use of biodiversity, it was important to educate the public on conservation. *StarOnline
Fraser Island
The State Government will close 18km of beach to 4WDs on the southern end of Fraser Island to protect migratory shorebirds 18 years after it was first recommended. But there's a catch – it does not know when the ban will be implemented. Sustainability Minister Kate Jones said yesterday the closure on the 124km-long island was to allow the shorebirds to roost unhindered by traffic. "Independent consultants have advised us that it will cost about $2 million to upgrade the (inland) road and about $1.3 million per annum in maintenance," Ms Jones said. Currently we don't have the ability to do that but it remains our intention, given the beach is a key area for birds." Former environment ministers Lindy Nelson-Carr and Desley Boyle had planned to ban 4WDs from the foreshore. Apart from birds it was meant to be a safe area for families. Camp grounds had already been built when then member for Hervey Bay Andrew McNamara became sustainability minister in 2007. He reneged on the deal to stem electoral damage from 4WD owners who campaigned for all beaches to remain open to vehicles. He lost the seat regardless.
If the beach was closed, it would mean people alighting from barges on the southern tip of the island would travel the first 18km by road before accessing the beach. Birds Queensland president and Fraser Island World Heritage Area Community Advisory Committee member Mike West urged Ms Jones to pressure Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett to help with funding to ensure the road was upgraded as soon as possible. "This is a great thing she's done but it's time the Feds honoured their obligations under international treaties to protect migratory shorebirds," Mr West said. "The southern beach is really the only spot where these birds gather in large numbers. "This road used to be bitumen, so it's not like this is something new and the beach has got a lot of erosion, so it's becoming dangerous anyway." Ms Jones could give no firm date when the ban would start but it appears to be late next year at the earliest as she must seek funds in coming budgets. She said about $600,000 had already been spent maintaining the old road. *Courier Mail
Endangered Species Written Off! The Federal Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, has warned that money to save endangered wildlife is limited and some species may have to be abandoned when funding decisions are made. In one of the strongest speeches of his ministerial career he told an international conference of ecologists in Brisbane that the Government will shift its focus to protecting ''ecosystems'', rather than putting money into individual projects for endangered animals. Mr Garrett's speech follows a report by the Department of Climate Change that found global warming would severely threaten many native species. Mr Garrett said the current system of funding on an animal-by-animal basis was the equivalent of paramedics waiting at the bottom of a hill performing ''triage'' on those who fall down. 'Australia has 1750 species now on the threatened list,'' he said. ''And while … we will have to act in an urgent way from time to time to prevent their extinction, it won't always be effective to keep tackling them one by one.''
Mr Garrett has already signalled his intentions with substantial budget injections to the national reserves system and new marine conservation zones. At present Australia registers species on endangered lists based on the advice of the Threatened Species Scientific Committee. The minister then decides whether he will fund a ''recovery program'' for that species based on its chance of success. Mr Garrett discussed his recent decision to fund a recovery program for an endangered bat on Christmas Island and whether he could afford to spend the money given the animal's low chance of recovery. He asked the scientists to help policy makers and the community ''understand what is required in terms of public policy, resources and priorities''. He said his new approach was one of a ''clear-sighted pragmatist''. Mr Garrett also pre-empted claims of future budget constraints on environmental spending by saying the financial crisis was the best time to address such issues because he was ''sufficiently aware that our wellbeing is inextricably linked to the health of our natural ecosystems''.
Averil Bones, policy director for the WWF, said moving to a broader protection program would require more money in next year's budget. She said Australia could not protect only existing ecosystems as most were under severe threat, and the environment had to be restored through revegetation programs and species protection. Phil Gibbons, a senior fellow at the ANU's Fenner School of Environment and Society, said focusing on ecosystems was the most cost-effective approach to saving animals. But he said Mr Garrett had recently spent large amounts on programs for politically popular animals, including $10 million to help save the Tasmanian devil. Mr Gibbons added that Mr Garrett and the Rudd Government had not yet been prepared to have a debate about ''the links between economic growth and the damage we are doing to our natural ecosystems''. SMH
Kangaroos Shot
Two disturbing acts of animal cruelty in Wellington shire are the focus of police investigations, with several kangaroos run down and shot at Darriman and a deer injured at Loch Sport. Police have charged three men and interviewed a teenager after four kangaroos were injured at Jack Smith Lake Game Reserve on Thursday night. The men were arrested on Friday morning at about 11am after they were found with a stolen tractor in the reserve on Middle Rd. A 21-year-old man from Athlone has been charged with theft of a motor vehicle, criminal damage, possessing a firearm while unlicensed and cruelty to animals offences. He has been bailed to appear at the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court on September 15. A 20-year-old Drouin South man is expected to be charged on summons for permitting an unlicensed person to posses a firearm, hunting in a game reserve out of season and hunting protected animals. An 18-year-old Warrigal man is expected to be charged on summons for cruelty to animals.
The Department of Sustainability and Environment is assisting police with their investigations. Police allege the men were running over kangaroos in their ute at the reserve between 9pm and 11pm on Thursday. It is also alleged the men were shooting at mobs of kangaroos but police are unsure if any were injured. Police said the ute the men were travelling in became bogged in the mud while they were out on the reserve and they allegedly stole a tractor from a nearby property. Further charges are pending for other wildlife offences. The Darriman kangaroo attacks follow on from an incident in Loch Sport almost two months ago where hoons killed two kangaroos while ripping up the fairways of the Loch Sport Golf Course.
Meanwhile police and DSE are worried about the welfare of a deer seen wandering around Loch Sport in recent weeks with an arrow sticking out of its neck. Police are investigating a possible case of illegal hunting of deer using a bow and arrow close to the town. The deer has been sighted several times and police and DSE wildlife officers are trying to find the hog deer to determine if it can be treated or if it needs to be put down. It is believed the deer has had the arrow stuck in its neck for more than two weeks. The last sighting of the deer was on Thursday afternoon on Loch Sport Rd 500m out of town. Anyone who has seen the deer is asked to contact Sale police on 51435000. *Gippsland Times
Help Save Wildlife Help two birds with one book – Bag a bargain and help save our wildlife!In this current economic climate, we are all looking for ways to save money, and for us, fundraising to save wildlife. We would like to offer you a deal that can help two birds with one book! For just $60, you will get the best discount booklet out: ‘The Entertainment Book’ where you can save on dining, movie tickets, doughnuts, sporting events and travel… and $12 from every book goes directly to saving our wildlife!
To order: Call 07 5436 2026, Email info@wildlifewarriors.org.au , pop into the Wildlife Warrior office at Australia Zoo for a sneak peak …we send you the book and your donation will help save innocent lives. You can also share the cost with family/friends/workmates and share the love! Pass this offer on to anyone who loves a bargain! This offer CLOSES 30 AUGUST so get in quick! Thank you for helping save our wildlife! *Network Item
Thinking about Wildlife? Who’s going to watch over our wildlife when you no longer share their World? Well, we are! The Wildlife Protection Association of Australia Inc. will continue to forcefully lobby governments to do better with wildlife management, and by taking them to Court if necessary. We are currently working on developing eLearning projects, so students can become aware of the importance of our wildlife living in a safe and secure natural environment. After you have looked after your family and friends in your Will, think about wildlife. A bequest to the Wildlife Protection Association of Australia Inc. will ensure that we can continue to take a leading role in protecting and conserving our precious wildlife. None of the donations we receive are diverted to "administration". Every dollar we get through bequests or donations for wildlife hits the ground running! Talk to your solicitor, or if writing your own Will, add the words "I bequeath to The Wildlife Protection Association of Australia Inc. for the purpose of protecting wildlife in Australia (a specified sum), or (specified items including land or vehicle), or (the residue of my estate) or (percentage of my estate) free of all duties, and the receipt of the President, Secretary or other authorised WPAA officer for the time being shall be a complete and sufficient discharge for the executor(s)." You can also phone me for a confidential chat, as to how a bequest can help us work to protect our wildlife, when you are no longer able to. * Pat O’Brien, WPAA 07 54941890
Monday, August 17, 2009
Wildlife Bytes 11/8/09
Another Fraser Island Dingo Killed
The Queensland Government has destroyed the dingo which attacked a four-year-old boy on Fraser Island off south-east Queensland last week. The Department of Environment and Resource Management says the dingo was culled last Friday night. It is the eighth dingo to be destroyed this year. The family, who were on holiday on the island from Holland, say they had to fight off the dingo that attacked their boy last Wednesday. Queensland Sustainability Minister Kate Jones said last week the boy's legs were badly punctured by the animal but he did not require stitches. *
Meanwhile, A study has found groundwater on world heritage-listed Fraser Island, off south-east Queensland, is being severely polluted by human waste. The University of the Sunshine Coast's Bill Carter has found the quality of the island's groundwater in camping areas is below Queensland water quality standards. Professor Carter says finding a solution to removing the waste will be difficult. "[There are] very high levels of faecal coliforms in the groundwater and some of these are even flowing onto the beach," he said. "Plus, there are very high nutrient levels in the groundtable, likewise flowing onto the beach, so some real concerns for the island. "Let me tell you when we first found that result, we started washing our hands very regularly and making sure that we boiled any water that we used from those areas." *ABC
Environmental Laywer Wanted.
Environmental Defenders Office of North Queensland Inc. seeks an experienced environmental lawyer to help us defend North Queensland’s Unique Environment. The position is based in Cairns, with a salary range between $54,800 to $59,900 For more details please contact us at adminnq@edo.org.au or 07 4031 4766 Applications close August 27, 2009 Principal Solicitor & Coordinator Defend North Queensland’s Unique Natural Environment 061059639. * Network Item
Coyote Stolen
Brockville's (US) acting director of parks and recreation expressed disappointment Tuesday after learning the city's Canada geese deterring decoy coyote had been poached by thieves. Valerie Harvey said she was saddened not only by yet another incident of theft or vandalism at a city park, but also because after less than a week on the job, the coyote appeared to be working. It was working so well, in fact, that the city will be replacing it. "I was disappointed. Regardless of who it is, it impacts all of the users of the parks," said Harvey. "We would hope that the person or persons that stole it would return it," she added. "Especially if those individuals are using the park because I'm sure that they prefer not having the goose droppings in the grass." Brockville Police Inspector Scott Fraser said the lifelike coyote, which stands just under two feet in height, was stolen from Centeen Park on Sunday night or early Monday morning. Both Harvey and Fraser were appealing to the public for information. "Someone in town will know who did it," said Fraser. "They'll have it as a trophy in their house or their apartment." Clearly, city parks and recreation staff were concerned about the possibility thieves would target the unusual waterfront sight when they set it loose last week. However, using metal rods driven deep into the ground and a mechanism to secure the decoy in place, Harvey said they felt it was secure. *Network Item
Magpie Geese
This little story above reminds me of once when a rural neighbor of mine couldnt get a Permit to shoot magpie geese. He claimed they were eating the grass he needed for his cattle. So he purchased a gas powered cannon which went of at irregular intervals (day and night, to the chagrin of the neighbors) to frighten the magpie geese away. Within a couple of weeks the geese were perching on the cannon, not the least bit afraid of the noise. Then we received some heavy rain, the lake came up and covered the gas-powered cannon, and it blew itself up. Very sad. *WPAA
Two heads better than one?
A two-headed cobra snake has been born in China. Mr Liu, a rail worker who breeds snakes as a hobby, said he was amazed when he first saw the reptile. He had bought 10 snake eggs to hatch at his home in Jiujiang, eastern China's Jiangxi province, reports Dajiang Network. "When the cobras hatched out, one of them had two heads," said Liu. He said the cobra was able to eat using both of its mouths simultaneously. It's four eyes were cloudy - but he expected that to change when the snake sheds its skin for the first time. A spokesman for the local wild animal protection centre said the two-headed snake was most likely the result of genetic mutation. *Network Item
Gt Barrier Reef
An international study has found that the economic cost of coral bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef would be $37.7 billion. The Oxford Economics report, which values the reef at $51.4 billion, also found up to 50 per cent of tourists who would normally visit the reef would stay away from Queensland if bleaching was permanent. The study was commissioned by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation to set an economic benchmark for the natural asset. The foundation's John Schubert says the figures paint a disturbing picture for tourism and local communities that directly benefit from their proximity to the reef. Managing director Judy Stewart expects the economic study will set a new standard for valuing the environment. "I expect that the methodology will be looked at in great detail by other economists looking at other environmental assets elsewhere, as well as how we value coral reefs elsewhere," she said. * ABC
Elephants
20 years ago the African elephant was being poached to extinction in many areas. In response, the world voted to outlaw the international trade in ivory. Elephant numbers have since recovered in many countries. But, this new BBC radio 4 documentary Last Chance for Africa’s Elephants? looks at how in the last five years, ivory poaching and trafficking have surged once more, fueled by war, free trade and rising incomes in Asia. One group of conservation scientists has calculated that 38,000 elephants are being killed every year which could lead to near extinction in 15 years. But, almost all the poaching is occurring in Central African countries, often torn apart by war, and other elephant experts argue the slaughter rate is not as high as this but are still alarmed at the steep increase in poaching in many African countries. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00lv6tq
Wildlife Poaching
A 59-year-old man from the WA wheatbelt town of Morawa has been fined more than $4,500 for unlawfully possessing protected birds. Herbert Edward Kenyon pleaded guilty in the Geraldton Magistrates Court to illegally possessing three Carnaby's Cockatoos and 11 Red-Tailed Black Cockatoos. Officers from the Department of Environment and Conservation found the birds caged in the backyard and laundry of Mr Kenyon's home. He was fined $3,000 for possessing the Carnaby's Cockatoos, which are on the state's endangered species list because there are only about 40,000 of them left in WA. *ABC
Whales
It is now generally accepted that the bowhead whale is the longest lived mammal on the planet, with a lifespan of over 200 years. But that it can sing with "more than one voice" and that it changes its repertoire from year to year is news. This behaviour is unique among baleen whales and is a newly discovered phenomenon that has been investigated by researchers at the University of Copenhagen. The project comes at a time when the bowhead whale, after many years of absence, has returned to the waters around northwest Greenland, including Disko Bay. It wasn't that many years ago that the bowhead whale was written off as extinct in the waters around Greenland and especially in Disko Bay in northwest Greenland where University of Copenhagen has its Arctic Field Station. read more here....http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=01035286491
Native Fish and Frogs deemed Collateral Damage
The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPIF) says about 4,000 noxious tilapia fish have been found in dams near Bundaberg in south-east Queensland. The pest was discovered in the Bullyard area in April. Poison is now being added to 16 privately-owned dams on two properties to eradicate the fish. DPIF regional manager Dr Nikki Moore says officers are trying to stop the infestation spreading to the Kolan River and other catchments. "Tilapia is a really invasive species and it's bad," she said. "We believe they are contained in the dams and that is why we are doing this exercise to remove them, to protect our natural waterways and our natural fish population." Dr Moore says the poison is an environmentally-approved control method. "We have had some native fish killed as well but it is a lot less if tilapia got out into the waterways and were competing in those areas," she said. "We will be restocking these farm dams with Australian bass, it is a far more appropriate fish to have in a farm dam." *ABC
Ed Comment; We have to wonder what the poison will do to frogs, and birds that eat the dead fish...
Camels A US television business show host has become an instant pin-up girl for animal liberationists after calling Prime Minister Kevin Rudd a "serial killer" for approving camel culling. Erin Burnett is famous for her sizzling looks - she once posed topless for men's magazine Maxim - as well as her outspoken views on CNBC show Squawk On The Street. Her latest diatribe took a bizarre twist when she stopped midway through a stock analysis to take aim at Mr Rudd for approving an aerial cull of feral camels in the Outback, costing $19 million. With a photograph of Mr Rudd up on the screen and a fluffy toy camel perched nearby, Burnett said: "There is a serial killer in Australia". "He has launched air strikes - air strikes - against camels. "They are slaughtering them."
The comments have made Burnett the darling of animal liberationists upset at the proposed cull - to be carried out by marksmen in helicopters - which is aimed at stopping the one million camels destroying the desert's ecosystem. Animal Liberation NSW executive director Mark Pearson backed the outspoken American last night. "If it was a premeditated decision to kill a person and then another and another - and that's what's going to happen with the camels - then it is serial killing," Mr Pearson said. "This a Rambo operation and I'm amazed Rudd has authorised it. Aerial killing is the most inhumane."
Wildlife Protection Association of Australia president Pat O'Brien said the "serial killer" line, while sensationalist, had a ring of truth. "Mr Rudd gave permission to have more than 500 kangaroos killed last year in Belconnen (in the ACT) and that was because they wanted the land for development," he said. But even among conservationists not everyone is happy. One group noted that the comments deserved the line "only in America". The Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia backed the cull to save native flora and fauna from a herd growing by about 80,000 a year. Mr Rudd refused to comment. * Daily Telegraph
Ed Comment; The Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia is Vincent Serventys old group. We've said this before, but when conservation groups lose sight of animal welfare issues, they become increasingly irrelevant. I did several radio interviews, and tried to get across to the media the uselessness of it all....just a bandade, and they need to get more wholistic and more humane about wild animal controls...with this "strategy" of spending 19 million to aerial shoot them, they will need to do it each two or three years to keep numbers down, otherwise the money is just wasted. That money could be much better spent by devising contraception processes that can be humanely spread through whole populations, and permanently fix the problem of too many introduced wild animals. I also questioned the numbers of camels quoted. They can't accurately count kangaroos, how can they accurately count camels across a very much bigger area? What barbaric lot our politicians are...I suppose they get so used to trying to knife each other in the back they lose all feeling and perspective. *
Flying Foxes
Shooters who kill fruit bats foraging in NSW orchards must then find and kill their babies in the nest, as part of draft government guidelines for culling the animals. The Department of Primary Industries is trying to reach a compromise between farmers and environment groups over keeping bats away from orchards around Sydney. Clubbing baby bats is seen as a more humane way of ending their lives than letting them die of hunger, the guidelines suggest. NSW is the only state in which bats are shot under licence. Cabinet is considering whether to ban shooting, subsidise nets to protect crops or let the existing system of licensed culls continue. The Opposition and environment groups say the draft shooting guidelines, as well as being cruel and impractical, suggest that a shooting ban is off the agenda.
''The idea is ludicrous. How are shooters supposed to work out which baby belongs to which dead mother, when they are moving around by spotlight in the dark?'' Opposition environment spokeswoman Catherine Cusack said. The draft guidelines recommend the babies be ''quickly and humanely euthanased with a blow to the skull using a hard and heavy blunt instrument (eg metal pipe, wooden club etc) to destroy the brain''. They suggest dogs could locate wounded bats on the ground so shooters could finish them off. The Humane Society International said the bats could not be destroyed without suffering, and supported calls for subsidised nets to protect orchards. A spokeswoman for Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald said the guidelines had no official status yet and were prepared with input from the Department of Environment and Climate Change, farmers and conservation groups. Of the three fruit bat species subject to culling, two are protected and one, the grey-headed flying fox, is listed as vulnerable to extinction. *SMH
Magpies Poisoned
Palm Beach (Qld) residents have been rocked by a possible magpie massacre, with 25 dead birds found just as the annual swooping season starts. Only one bird survived the slaughter, believed to have been caused by poisoned bread, and is recovering at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. The sanctuary made the grisly discovery on the corner of Seventh and Tahiti avenues after being tipped off by a member of the public yesterday morning. "It's tragic. The suffering these birds have gone through is tremendous," said senior vet Michael Pyne. "Although it is a relatively quick death they still suffered an awful lot for about an hour," he said. While the death toll sits at 25, Mr Pyne said it could easily climb higher. "There's every chance more dead birds could show up."
The killer faces up to a year in prison or a $100,000 fine if caught, as magpies are a protected native species and it is an offence to kill them. "QPWS officers are investigating in the area where the birds were found," said a Department of Environment and Resource Management spokeswoman. "Rangers will undertake a letterbox drop and doorknock in the immediate area and encourage anyone with information to contact DERM on 1300 130 372," she said. "We have no answers yet whether poison was involved or whether these were accidental or deliberate deaths." Specimens from the birds and possibly poisoned bread found near the bodies of the birds have been sent to Biosecurity Queensland labs for toxicology testing.
Mr Pyne said the torn up bread supported his theory that they had been poisoned. "Unfortunately the birds will eat almost anything, so it is very easy to poison them. A lot of people don't really like them. "Kids could be involved or it might be someone who just doesn't like the birds hanging around their place. "We just don't know." Mr Pyne said the surviving bird was saved after being given a poison antidote. "You truly had to look to see if she was alive. She was lying on her side -- you could just see she was breathing. "Now she's standing up and looks like she'll make a recovery." Residents in Seventh and Tahiti avenues were shocked by the massacre and said they had never had any problems with the birds. "It's weak," said Trevor Brooks.
"No one likes being hit by a magpie and you might feel like smacking one but you don't go out and do this." Jean Lockhart said the birds used to gather on her lawn. "I don't believe it would happen in the area. Most people are animal lovers around here," she said. The magpie breeding season runs from July to December with the peak, often referred to as the swooping season, occurring from August to October. *Gold Coast Bulletin
Game Hunting
Dubbo Zoo has sold endangered antelope to a member of the Shooters’ Party who wants to charge hunters thousands of dollars for the right to shoot them on a private game reserve. Bob McComb, who owns the Dongadale Deer Park and Stud, has bought 24 blackbuck antelope in the past three years – paying between $160 and $300 for animals the zoo said were ‘‘not required’’ in its collection. ‘I see private game reserves as a very effective way to achieve that conservation,’’ Mr McComb, the chairman of the Adventure and Safari Industry Association of NSW, said. ‘‘I’m not going to say we’re going to hunt elephants or giraffes. When I look at public acceptance, I look at the continuum of acceptability.’’
Under a private member’s bill introduced by the NSW Shooters’ Party, which would amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, Mr McComb intends to use the species for trophy hunting. He said hunting was the only way to make breeding the antelope financially viable and his game reserve would be focused on ethical hunting and conservation outcomes. ‘‘If we can build up a legal and ethical safari trade, a tourist will pay $100 a kilo to harvest an animal. That’s cash weight at the farm gate,’’ he said. ‘‘The biggest issue [is] as soon as you mention a rifle, cruelty comes into it: ‘Oh, cruelty, cruelty, cruelty.’ ’’ A spokeswoman for Taronga Western Plains Zoo said Mr McComb’s property was examined by the zoo’s senior veterinarian before the sale and it was stipulated the animals could only be used for breeding.
The chairman of the zoo’s Zoological Health and Welfare Committee, Tony English, is also a councillor on the Game Council NSW, a statutory authority that assists hunters in culling feral animals. The Greens’ spokeswoman on animal welfare, Lee Rhiannon, said the sale raised concerns about the handling of animals by public zoos and the Government’s dealings with the Shooters’ Party. ‘‘If the Government supports this bill, it would have to be one of the dirtiest deals done in NSW Parliament,’’ she said. Robert Brown, who introduced the bill, has vowed to hold the Government to ransom until it is passed. He said blackbuck would be an appropriate species for enclosed reserves. Blackbuck are deemed endangered under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act and granted the highest level of protection alongside elephants and lions.
Carmel Tebbutt, who is responsible for Dubbo Zoo as Minister for the Environment, is not required to approve the sale of animals. Her spokeswoman would not comment on whether the sale was acceptable. "The zoo has the authority to conduct these transactions as part of species management," she said. The Government maintains it will not support the bill. Mr McComb argued guns were a more humane method of killing animals than barbiturates and said it would have been better to shoot the whale calf abandoned at Pittwater last year rather than euthanase it by lethal injection. *SMH
Rooks and Crows
Aesop was quite the fable-teller, but was he a student of bird behavior as well? A study in Current Biology suggests he might have been. Christopher Bird of the University of Cambridge and Nathan J. Emery of Queen Mary University of London report that rooks, a relative of the crow, are able to use stones to raise the level of water in a container so they can reach a floating worm. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s similar to Aesop’s fable about the crow and the pitcher, in which a thirsty bird adds stones to raise the water level in a pitcher in order to drink from it. Crows, rooks and other corvids are known for their tool use — using sticks as probes, for example, or fashioning hooks out of wire. Dr. Bird, who studies corvid behavior, knew of a 1980s study in which a rook plugged a hole in its aviary to allow a pool of water to form. That led him to wonder if a corvid could do what is described in the fable.
They experimented with four captive rooks, presenting them with a clear tube partly filled with water with a bug floating on top, and a pile of stones. In one variant, the starting height of the water changed from trial to trial. In another, the birds had a choice of two sizes of stone. The birds quickly caught on, and within a couple of trials had figured out how many stones they needed to bring the bug within reach. “It was a remarkable combination of some understanding of the task with really rapid learning,” Dr. Bird said. The findings were published in Current Biology. Rooks don’t use tools in the wild, because they don’t need to — they have easy access to food like carrion. But in captivity, they can be presented with a situation like this, where it pays to figure out how to perform a task. “This fits nicely with Aesop’s moral,” Dr. Bird said, “that necessity is the mother of invention.”
The researchers suggested that Aesop (or whoever came up with the fable, since the stories are thought to have many origins) may have seen similar behavior in a crow. Or perhaps, Dr. Bird said, it was a rook. “In folklore all members of the corvid family are just called crow,” he said. “So it might just as easily have been Aesop’s rook.” *New York Times
Game Reserves Touted
The Game Council of New South Wales says allowing private game reserves in the state would help better conserve endangered species. Concern has been raised about the fate of 16 blackbuck antelope the Taronga Western Plains Zoo has sold to a member of the Shooters' Party, who wants to establish a game reserve in the central west. The Shooters' Party currently has a bill before Parliament calling for the establishment of safari parks. Game council chief executive Brian Boyle says privatising wildlife management can be a saviour for endangered animals. "They are possibly endangered in their own countries and that's why things like private game reserves and zoos over here are a life raft for the species now," he said. "By putting a commercial value on the animal it's actually privatising wildlife management - we privatise everything else in Australia, but when it comes to wildlife we say hands off and it isn't working. "In African countries where there is commercial value or conservation hunting of those animals, the wildlife is doing very well, in countries like Kenya where hunting is totally banned, they have no populations of the wild animals outside the national parks." *ABC
Kangaroos
"Sustainable" Kangaroo Industry
Having spent the last 15 years commercially shooting kangaroos near Charleville, Jason Stafford reckons the industry is in its worst shape ever. A Russian ban on kangaroo meat has hit the Charleville kangaroo industry hard as Russia had been one of its most important markets. When the ban caused his main client United Game Processing to cut its demand for kangaroo meat, Mr Stafford was able to get work supplying another Charleville meat works, Game Meat Processing. Mr Stafford said he considered himself lucky to be able to continue as a full-time kangaroo shooter. “Some of the full-time shooters have had to go to get other jobs,” Mr Stafford said. Making a decent living to support his family has become more difficult though as Mr Stafford said the price of kangaroo meat has been on a decline over the last couple of years. “In 2006 and 2007, we were getting between one dollar and $1.30 a kilogram.” “It had gone down hill slowly to about 80 cents per kilogram a couple of months ago, but then there was another 15 cent drop.” “If the money goes any lower, a lot of us will have to get out (of the industry).” *Chronicle
The kangaroo may be on the coat of arms, but Australian's don't always have the most harmonious relationship with the marsupial. The kangaroo is often seen as a pest and all too often, as roadkill. Scientists say kangaroos are likely to continue to move to densely populated areas, as water becomes more scarce. And researchers are examining ways of controlling the spread of the animal by developing a sustainable harvesting industry. Presenter: Lexi Metherell reports Speaker: Dr Michael Archer, University of New South Wales; David Clarke, from the New South Wales Farmers Association. Ed Comment; If anyone wants to listen to this nonsense you can go here; http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/pacbeat/stories/200908/s2647517.htm
French wildlife authorities have finally caught up with a kangaroo that had been hopping around the French countryside for the past 10 days. Wildlife authorities cornered Will the kangaroo in the south-west village of Juillac-le-Coq late Wednesday and used a tranquilliser dart gun to put him to sleep and capture him, said his owner. Police had been receiving phone calls over past weeks from local residents who had spotted the 1.2-metre marsupial bouncing around a children's park or in corn fields. It remains unclear how Will managed to escape his pen in the first place. His owner, who lives in the nearby village of Gente, was on holidays when he went off on his adventure. * AFP
Ethical Wasteland
The Wildlife Society is a bunch of "wildlife professionals" (their words) who work to raise funds for sustainable wildlife Industries. They are a fairly powerful lobby group of researchers who support killing kangaroos and other wildlife. Mostly working from Universities where they can use the Uni's resources, they have had major input into really bad decisions about "managing" our wildlife. If you want to read a lot of garbage, and want to get angry, you can read some of their comments about the Majura kangaroo kill here...http://wildlifeprofessional.org/blog/?p=785 This is a blog, and you are invited to make comments, but I couldnt get the comments section to work. Perhaps I shouldnt have used those words............*
Kangaroo Arrests Made
A man is facing animal cruelty charges after four injured kangaroos were discovered in eastern Victoria. Two other men and a teenager were also arrested today in Jack Smith Lake Game Reserve in Middle Road, Darriman. A 21-year-old man from Athlone was charged with car theft, criminal damage, possessing a firearm while unlicensed and cruelty to animals. He was bailed to appear at the Latrobe Valley Magistrates' Court in Morwell on September 15. A 20-year-old Drouin South man is expected to be charged on summons for firearm offences and hunting protected animals. An 18-year-old Warragul man is expected to be charged on summons for cruelty to animals. Police have also questioned a 15-year-old boy. The Department of Sustainability and Environment is also investigating. *AAP
Kangaroo Research
ACT researchers say early results from a kangaroo tracking program in Canberra show the animals have a limited home range for feeding. Ecologists from the ACT Department of Territory and Municipal Services are part way through a two-year project to monitor the movements of eastern grey kangaroos using GPS collars. So far the research has revealed male kangaroos stay in an area of about three-square kilometres, while female kangaroos remain in an area of about half a square kilometre. Senior ecologist Don Fletcher says some of the data will be used to help reduce the number of wildlife road accidents around Canberra. "There's also potentially quite a bit of value in doing more about the motor vehicle collisions with kangaroos," he said. "We've got a few plans in that area and we'd like to be able to inform the road engineers better." Mr Fletcher says the development of GPS technology has made it easier to collect the information. "It's wonderful data, quite accurate locations from the GPS collars and lots and lots of it," he said. "And there's quite interesting patterns." *ABC
Ed Comment; There has been a lot of criticism through the wildlife networks about this project. One of our kangaroo expert associates noted;
This study by Don Fletcher would have to top the list of the biggest waste of tax payers money. He keeps creating ridiculous studies to keep himself in a job. You don’t have to be a Rocket Scientist to realize that Kangaroo collisions happen because so much of their habitat has been taken away. They HAVE to cross roads. Also, so many are being shot that many flee in terror and move to areas that they would not live. Fletcher is clearly not questioned about his useless research and will continue on his killing spree for as long as he can pull the wool over the idiotic Politicians who also appear to hate the Eastern Grey Kangaroo. Don’t get me wrong, there would be a Fletcher in every state who believes he or she is the Guru in regards to understanding Kangaroos. Fletcher has stated several things which to anyone who knows anything about Kangaroos has exposed him to know absolutely nothing about their behaviour, family dynamics or movement. *
Kangaroos Killed
Four severely hacked kangaroo carcasses were discovered dumped in Mogo State Forest on Saturday. Malua Bay resident Mike Johnson was mountain bike riding west of the Princes Highway, near Misons Road, when a number of crows alerted him to the dumping site. “The kangaroos were chopped up into bits,” he said. “It wasn’t a very nice scene.” Mr Johnson said he had been cycling around different parts of Mogo State Forest since moving to the South Coast three years ago. “This is the first time I’ve come across something like that.”
Mr Johnson contacted the Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service (WIRES), NSW Police and National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). National Parks and Wildlife Services spokesman Stuart Cohen said the service would be investigating whether the kangaroos were illegally culled. Even if they were legally culled, there was still an issue with the way the carcasses were dumped. Mr Cohen said there were no commercial culling operations on the South Coast, but farmers and landholders were able to apply for a 121 licence for non-commercial culling. He said non-commercial culling requires the licensed shooter to tag the kangaroo carcass. Mr Cohen said the meat could be given to dogs, but was not permitted for human consumption. A NPWS officer is due to attend the scene today to investigate the matter. *Bay Post
Later the ABC reports an investigation has begun after the discovery of mutilated kangaroo carcasses in Eurobodalla bushland on the State's far south coast. A bike rider found the remains of four animals in a shallow open grave west of the Princes Highway in the Mogo State Forest on Saturday. The National Parks and Wildlife Service says it suspects the kangaroos were killed illegally, and haven't been disposed of appropriately. A spokesman, Stuart Cohen, says there are numerous incidences of kangaroos being shot illegally on the Far South Coast. "Some people just shoot kangaroos for entertainment value," he said. "Others are not particularly interested in going through the process of applying for a license. "And others are shooting kangaroos illegally for the purposes of human consumption and to feed dogs." ABC
Kangaroo shot by Coppers
A police attempt to euthanase a wounded kangaroo went horribly wrong in front of a group of children. Police in Armidale were asked by the NSW Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service (WIRES) to euthanase the animal, which appeared to have broken a leg. But the operation was captured on film and posted online. In the clip, an officer fires three shots at the kangaroo at close range over a one-minute period. The kangaroo survives the first two shots and limps across a main road before being shot dead by the officer, metres from school students. The video - taken on Barney Street, Armidale, about 1.40pm on Sunday - has already generated online comments by people angry at the animal's treatment.The kangaroo was injured after being hit by a car, and had to be put down, said acting Inspector Matthew Crotty from Armidale police. "It's not uncommon for us to get called to a location to euthanase a kangaroo, being a rural area," he said.
A WIRES spokeswoman said the "options for a kangaroo with a broken leg are euthanasia and euthanasia". The preferable options were a "clean head shot" with a shotgun or a lethal injection by a vet, she said. "But transporting an animal with a badly broken leg to a vet is sometimes not the most humane option." As police prepared to shoot the kangaroo, the shock of the teenagers is heard in the video. "They won't do it with all of us here," one said. As the exercise drags on in full view of the public, the teens comment on the officer's inability to make a clean shot. "What? Are you kidding? Did he miss from there?" one says. Acting Inspector Crotty acknowledged the operation could have been quicker. "Ideally it would take just one shot," he said.
But shooting a kangaroo with a pistol was challenging, as its head was the size of a coffee cup, he said. "And we can't walk up to a wild animal, particularly a kangaroo that's flighty and can be dangerous, and put a firearm to its head." RSPCA NSW CEO Steve Coleman said the kangaroo had to be killed and police had done their best. "Having looked at the footage, it is our belief that the police did their level best to destroy the animal as well as they could, given the circumstances they were in. "The destruction of any animal is never a pretty scene." Acting Inspector Crotty said it was "unfortunate" the video had been posted online. Armidale police had already received a number of calls, he said. He said officers had tried to prevent onlookers from seeing it by moving their police van into place as a shield, but the kangaroo had moved away. They were also not aware their actions were being filmed, he said. Senior police at Armidale would review the incident to ensure the officers acted appropriately, as happens with all animal euthanasing, he said. * Network Item
End Animal Experimentation....http://animaldefendersinternational.createsend.com/T/ViewEmail/r/79B579BA9399E014/446FDCD146FEA4029A8E73400EDACAB4
Thinking about Wildlife? Who’s going to watch over our wildlife when you no longer share their World? Well, we are! The Wildlife Protection Association of Australia Inc. will continue to forcefully lobby governments to do better with wildlife management, and by taking them to Court if necessary. We are currently working on developing eLearning projects, so students can become aware of the importance of our wildlife living in a safe and secure natural environment. After you have looked after your family and friends in your Will, think about wildlife. A bequest to the Wildlife Protection Association of Australia Inc. will ensure that we can continue to take a leading role in protecting and conserving our precious wildlife. None of the donations we receive are diverted to "administration". Every dollar we get through bequests or donations for wildlife hits the ground running! Talk to your solicitor, or if writing your own Will, add the words "I bequeath to The Wildlife Protection Association of Australia Inc. for the purpose of protecting wildlife in Australia (a specified sum), or (specified items including land or vehicle), or (the residue of my estate) or (percentage of my estate) free of all duties, and the receipt of the President, Secretary or other authorised WPAA officer for the time being shall be a complete and sufficient discharge for the executor(s)." You can also phone me for a confidential chat, as to how a bequest can help us work to protect our wildlife, when you are no longer able to. * Pat O’Brien, WPAA 07 54941890
The Queensland Government has destroyed the dingo which attacked a four-year-old boy on Fraser Island off south-east Queensland last week. The Department of Environment and Resource Management says the dingo was culled last Friday night. It is the eighth dingo to be destroyed this year. The family, who were on holiday on the island from Holland, say they had to fight off the dingo that attacked their boy last Wednesday. Queensland Sustainability Minister Kate Jones said last week the boy's legs were badly punctured by the animal but he did not require stitches. *
Meanwhile, A study has found groundwater on world heritage-listed Fraser Island, off south-east Queensland, is being severely polluted by human waste. The University of the Sunshine Coast's Bill Carter has found the quality of the island's groundwater in camping areas is below Queensland water quality standards. Professor Carter says finding a solution to removing the waste will be difficult. "[There are] very high levels of faecal coliforms in the groundwater and some of these are even flowing onto the beach," he said. "Plus, there are very high nutrient levels in the groundtable, likewise flowing onto the beach, so some real concerns for the island. "Let me tell you when we first found that result, we started washing our hands very regularly and making sure that we boiled any water that we used from those areas." *ABC
Environmental Laywer Wanted.
Environmental Defenders Office of North Queensland Inc. seeks an experienced environmental lawyer to help us defend North Queensland’s Unique Environment. The position is based in Cairns, with a salary range between $54,800 to $59,900 For more details please contact us at adminnq@edo.org.au or 07 4031 4766 Applications close August 27, 2009 Principal Solicitor & Coordinator Defend North Queensland’s Unique Natural Environment 061059639. * Network Item
Coyote Stolen
Brockville's (US) acting director of parks and recreation expressed disappointment Tuesday after learning the city's Canada geese deterring decoy coyote had been poached by thieves. Valerie Harvey said she was saddened not only by yet another incident of theft or vandalism at a city park, but also because after less than a week on the job, the coyote appeared to be working. It was working so well, in fact, that the city will be replacing it. "I was disappointed. Regardless of who it is, it impacts all of the users of the parks," said Harvey. "We would hope that the person or persons that stole it would return it," she added. "Especially if those individuals are using the park because I'm sure that they prefer not having the goose droppings in the grass." Brockville Police Inspector Scott Fraser said the lifelike coyote, which stands just under two feet in height, was stolen from Centeen Park on Sunday night or early Monday morning. Both Harvey and Fraser were appealing to the public for information. "Someone in town will know who did it," said Fraser. "They'll have it as a trophy in their house or their apartment." Clearly, city parks and recreation staff were concerned about the possibility thieves would target the unusual waterfront sight when they set it loose last week. However, using metal rods driven deep into the ground and a mechanism to secure the decoy in place, Harvey said they felt it was secure. *Network Item
Magpie Geese
This little story above reminds me of once when a rural neighbor of mine couldnt get a Permit to shoot magpie geese. He claimed they were eating the grass he needed for his cattle. So he purchased a gas powered cannon which went of at irregular intervals (day and night, to the chagrin of the neighbors) to frighten the magpie geese away. Within a couple of weeks the geese were perching on the cannon, not the least bit afraid of the noise. Then we received some heavy rain, the lake came up and covered the gas-powered cannon, and it blew itself up. Very sad. *WPAA
Two heads better than one?
A two-headed cobra snake has been born in China. Mr Liu, a rail worker who breeds snakes as a hobby, said he was amazed when he first saw the reptile. He had bought 10 snake eggs to hatch at his home in Jiujiang, eastern China's Jiangxi province, reports Dajiang Network. "When the cobras hatched out, one of them had two heads," said Liu. He said the cobra was able to eat using both of its mouths simultaneously. It's four eyes were cloudy - but he expected that to change when the snake sheds its skin for the first time. A spokesman for the local wild animal protection centre said the two-headed snake was most likely the result of genetic mutation. *Network Item
Gt Barrier Reef
An international study has found that the economic cost of coral bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef would be $37.7 billion. The Oxford Economics report, which values the reef at $51.4 billion, also found up to 50 per cent of tourists who would normally visit the reef would stay away from Queensland if bleaching was permanent. The study was commissioned by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation to set an economic benchmark for the natural asset. The foundation's John Schubert says the figures paint a disturbing picture for tourism and local communities that directly benefit from their proximity to the reef. Managing director Judy Stewart expects the economic study will set a new standard for valuing the environment. "I expect that the methodology will be looked at in great detail by other economists looking at other environmental assets elsewhere, as well as how we value coral reefs elsewhere," she said. * ABC
Elephants
20 years ago the African elephant was being poached to extinction in many areas. In response, the world voted to outlaw the international trade in ivory. Elephant numbers have since recovered in many countries. But, this new BBC radio 4 documentary Last Chance for Africa’s Elephants? looks at how in the last five years, ivory poaching and trafficking have surged once more, fueled by war, free trade and rising incomes in Asia. One group of conservation scientists has calculated that 38,000 elephants are being killed every year which could lead to near extinction in 15 years. But, almost all the poaching is occurring in Central African countries, often torn apart by war, and other elephant experts argue the slaughter rate is not as high as this but are still alarmed at the steep increase in poaching in many African countries. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00lv6tq
Wildlife Poaching
A 59-year-old man from the WA wheatbelt town of Morawa has been fined more than $4,500 for unlawfully possessing protected birds. Herbert Edward Kenyon pleaded guilty in the Geraldton Magistrates Court to illegally possessing three Carnaby's Cockatoos and 11 Red-Tailed Black Cockatoos. Officers from the Department of Environment and Conservation found the birds caged in the backyard and laundry of Mr Kenyon's home. He was fined $3,000 for possessing the Carnaby's Cockatoos, which are on the state's endangered species list because there are only about 40,000 of them left in WA. *ABC
Whales
It is now generally accepted that the bowhead whale is the longest lived mammal on the planet, with a lifespan of over 200 years. But that it can sing with "more than one voice" and that it changes its repertoire from year to year is news. This behaviour is unique among baleen whales and is a newly discovered phenomenon that has been investigated by researchers at the University of Copenhagen. The project comes at a time when the bowhead whale, after many years of absence, has returned to the waters around northwest Greenland, including Disko Bay. It wasn't that many years ago that the bowhead whale was written off as extinct in the waters around Greenland and especially in Disko Bay in northwest Greenland where University of Copenhagen has its Arctic Field Station. read more here....http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=01035286491
Native Fish and Frogs deemed Collateral Damage
The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPIF) says about 4,000 noxious tilapia fish have been found in dams near Bundaberg in south-east Queensland. The pest was discovered in the Bullyard area in April. Poison is now being added to 16 privately-owned dams on two properties to eradicate the fish. DPIF regional manager Dr Nikki Moore says officers are trying to stop the infestation spreading to the Kolan River and other catchments. "Tilapia is a really invasive species and it's bad," she said. "We believe they are contained in the dams and that is why we are doing this exercise to remove them, to protect our natural waterways and our natural fish population." Dr Moore says the poison is an environmentally-approved control method. "We have had some native fish killed as well but it is a lot less if tilapia got out into the waterways and were competing in those areas," she said. "We will be restocking these farm dams with Australian bass, it is a far more appropriate fish to have in a farm dam." *ABC
Ed Comment; We have to wonder what the poison will do to frogs, and birds that eat the dead fish...
Camels A US television business show host has become an instant pin-up girl for animal liberationists after calling Prime Minister Kevin Rudd a "serial killer" for approving camel culling. Erin Burnett is famous for her sizzling looks - she once posed topless for men's magazine Maxim - as well as her outspoken views on CNBC show Squawk On The Street. Her latest diatribe took a bizarre twist when she stopped midway through a stock analysis to take aim at Mr Rudd for approving an aerial cull of feral camels in the Outback, costing $19 million. With a photograph of Mr Rudd up on the screen and a fluffy toy camel perched nearby, Burnett said: "There is a serial killer in Australia". "He has launched air strikes - air strikes - against camels. "They are slaughtering them."
The comments have made Burnett the darling of animal liberationists upset at the proposed cull - to be carried out by marksmen in helicopters - which is aimed at stopping the one million camels destroying the desert's ecosystem. Animal Liberation NSW executive director Mark Pearson backed the outspoken American last night. "If it was a premeditated decision to kill a person and then another and another - and that's what's going to happen with the camels - then it is serial killing," Mr Pearson said. "This a Rambo operation and I'm amazed Rudd has authorised it. Aerial killing is the most inhumane."
Wildlife Protection Association of Australia president Pat O'Brien said the "serial killer" line, while sensationalist, had a ring of truth. "Mr Rudd gave permission to have more than 500 kangaroos killed last year in Belconnen (in the ACT) and that was because they wanted the land for development," he said. But even among conservationists not everyone is happy. One group noted that the comments deserved the line "only in America". The Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia backed the cull to save native flora and fauna from a herd growing by about 80,000 a year. Mr Rudd refused to comment. * Daily Telegraph
Ed Comment; The Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia is Vincent Serventys old group. We've said this before, but when conservation groups lose sight of animal welfare issues, they become increasingly irrelevant. I did several radio interviews, and tried to get across to the media the uselessness of it all....just a bandade, and they need to get more wholistic and more humane about wild animal controls...with this "strategy" of spending 19 million to aerial shoot them, they will need to do it each two or three years to keep numbers down, otherwise the money is just wasted. That money could be much better spent by devising contraception processes that can be humanely spread through whole populations, and permanently fix the problem of too many introduced wild animals. I also questioned the numbers of camels quoted. They can't accurately count kangaroos, how can they accurately count camels across a very much bigger area? What barbaric lot our politicians are...I suppose they get so used to trying to knife each other in the back they lose all feeling and perspective. *
Flying Foxes
Shooters who kill fruit bats foraging in NSW orchards must then find and kill their babies in the nest, as part of draft government guidelines for culling the animals. The Department of Primary Industries is trying to reach a compromise between farmers and environment groups over keeping bats away from orchards around Sydney. Clubbing baby bats is seen as a more humane way of ending their lives than letting them die of hunger, the guidelines suggest. NSW is the only state in which bats are shot under licence. Cabinet is considering whether to ban shooting, subsidise nets to protect crops or let the existing system of licensed culls continue. The Opposition and environment groups say the draft shooting guidelines, as well as being cruel and impractical, suggest that a shooting ban is off the agenda.
''The idea is ludicrous. How are shooters supposed to work out which baby belongs to which dead mother, when they are moving around by spotlight in the dark?'' Opposition environment spokeswoman Catherine Cusack said. The draft guidelines recommend the babies be ''quickly and humanely euthanased with a blow to the skull using a hard and heavy blunt instrument (eg metal pipe, wooden club etc) to destroy the brain''. They suggest dogs could locate wounded bats on the ground so shooters could finish them off. The Humane Society International said the bats could not be destroyed without suffering, and supported calls for subsidised nets to protect orchards. A spokeswoman for Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald said the guidelines had no official status yet and were prepared with input from the Department of Environment and Climate Change, farmers and conservation groups. Of the three fruit bat species subject to culling, two are protected and one, the grey-headed flying fox, is listed as vulnerable to extinction. *SMH
Magpies Poisoned
Palm Beach (Qld) residents have been rocked by a possible magpie massacre, with 25 dead birds found just as the annual swooping season starts. Only one bird survived the slaughter, believed to have been caused by poisoned bread, and is recovering at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. The sanctuary made the grisly discovery on the corner of Seventh and Tahiti avenues after being tipped off by a member of the public yesterday morning. "It's tragic. The suffering these birds have gone through is tremendous," said senior vet Michael Pyne. "Although it is a relatively quick death they still suffered an awful lot for about an hour," he said. While the death toll sits at 25, Mr Pyne said it could easily climb higher. "There's every chance more dead birds could show up."
The killer faces up to a year in prison or a $100,000 fine if caught, as magpies are a protected native species and it is an offence to kill them. "QPWS officers are investigating in the area where the birds were found," said a Department of Environment and Resource Management spokeswoman. "Rangers will undertake a letterbox drop and doorknock in the immediate area and encourage anyone with information to contact DERM on 1300 130 372," she said. "We have no answers yet whether poison was involved or whether these were accidental or deliberate deaths." Specimens from the birds and possibly poisoned bread found near the bodies of the birds have been sent to Biosecurity Queensland labs for toxicology testing.
Mr Pyne said the torn up bread supported his theory that they had been poisoned. "Unfortunately the birds will eat almost anything, so it is very easy to poison them. A lot of people don't really like them. "Kids could be involved or it might be someone who just doesn't like the birds hanging around their place. "We just don't know." Mr Pyne said the surviving bird was saved after being given a poison antidote. "You truly had to look to see if she was alive. She was lying on her side -- you could just see she was breathing. "Now she's standing up and looks like she'll make a recovery." Residents in Seventh and Tahiti avenues were shocked by the massacre and said they had never had any problems with the birds. "It's weak," said Trevor Brooks.
"No one likes being hit by a magpie and you might feel like smacking one but you don't go out and do this." Jean Lockhart said the birds used to gather on her lawn. "I don't believe it would happen in the area. Most people are animal lovers around here," she said. The magpie breeding season runs from July to December with the peak, often referred to as the swooping season, occurring from August to October. *Gold Coast Bulletin
Game Hunting
Dubbo Zoo has sold endangered antelope to a member of the Shooters’ Party who wants to charge hunters thousands of dollars for the right to shoot them on a private game reserve. Bob McComb, who owns the Dongadale Deer Park and Stud, has bought 24 blackbuck antelope in the past three years – paying between $160 and $300 for animals the zoo said were ‘‘not required’’ in its collection. ‘I see private game reserves as a very effective way to achieve that conservation,’’ Mr McComb, the chairman of the Adventure and Safari Industry Association of NSW, said. ‘‘I’m not going to say we’re going to hunt elephants or giraffes. When I look at public acceptance, I look at the continuum of acceptability.’’
Under a private member’s bill introduced by the NSW Shooters’ Party, which would amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, Mr McComb intends to use the species for trophy hunting. He said hunting was the only way to make breeding the antelope financially viable and his game reserve would be focused on ethical hunting and conservation outcomes. ‘‘If we can build up a legal and ethical safari trade, a tourist will pay $100 a kilo to harvest an animal. That’s cash weight at the farm gate,’’ he said. ‘‘The biggest issue [is] as soon as you mention a rifle, cruelty comes into it: ‘Oh, cruelty, cruelty, cruelty.’ ’’ A spokeswoman for Taronga Western Plains Zoo said Mr McComb’s property was examined by the zoo’s senior veterinarian before the sale and it was stipulated the animals could only be used for breeding.
The chairman of the zoo’s Zoological Health and Welfare Committee, Tony English, is also a councillor on the Game Council NSW, a statutory authority that assists hunters in culling feral animals. The Greens’ spokeswoman on animal welfare, Lee Rhiannon, said the sale raised concerns about the handling of animals by public zoos and the Government’s dealings with the Shooters’ Party. ‘‘If the Government supports this bill, it would have to be one of the dirtiest deals done in NSW Parliament,’’ she said. Robert Brown, who introduced the bill, has vowed to hold the Government to ransom until it is passed. He said blackbuck would be an appropriate species for enclosed reserves. Blackbuck are deemed endangered under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act and granted the highest level of protection alongside elephants and lions.
Carmel Tebbutt, who is responsible for Dubbo Zoo as Minister for the Environment, is not required to approve the sale of animals. Her spokeswoman would not comment on whether the sale was acceptable. "The zoo has the authority to conduct these transactions as part of species management," she said. The Government maintains it will not support the bill. Mr McComb argued guns were a more humane method of killing animals than barbiturates and said it would have been better to shoot the whale calf abandoned at Pittwater last year rather than euthanase it by lethal injection. *SMH
Rooks and Crows
Aesop was quite the fable-teller, but was he a student of bird behavior as well? A study in Current Biology suggests he might have been. Christopher Bird of the University of Cambridge and Nathan J. Emery of Queen Mary University of London report that rooks, a relative of the crow, are able to use stones to raise the level of water in a container so they can reach a floating worm. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s similar to Aesop’s fable about the crow and the pitcher, in which a thirsty bird adds stones to raise the water level in a pitcher in order to drink from it. Crows, rooks and other corvids are known for their tool use — using sticks as probes, for example, or fashioning hooks out of wire. Dr. Bird, who studies corvid behavior, knew of a 1980s study in which a rook plugged a hole in its aviary to allow a pool of water to form. That led him to wonder if a corvid could do what is described in the fable.
They experimented with four captive rooks, presenting them with a clear tube partly filled with water with a bug floating on top, and a pile of stones. In one variant, the starting height of the water changed from trial to trial. In another, the birds had a choice of two sizes of stone. The birds quickly caught on, and within a couple of trials had figured out how many stones they needed to bring the bug within reach. “It was a remarkable combination of some understanding of the task with really rapid learning,” Dr. Bird said. The findings were published in Current Biology. Rooks don’t use tools in the wild, because they don’t need to — they have easy access to food like carrion. But in captivity, they can be presented with a situation like this, where it pays to figure out how to perform a task. “This fits nicely with Aesop’s moral,” Dr. Bird said, “that necessity is the mother of invention.”
The researchers suggested that Aesop (or whoever came up with the fable, since the stories are thought to have many origins) may have seen similar behavior in a crow. Or perhaps, Dr. Bird said, it was a rook. “In folklore all members of the corvid family are just called crow,” he said. “So it might just as easily have been Aesop’s rook.” *New York Times
Game Reserves Touted
The Game Council of New South Wales says allowing private game reserves in the state would help better conserve endangered species. Concern has been raised about the fate of 16 blackbuck antelope the Taronga Western Plains Zoo has sold to a member of the Shooters' Party, who wants to establish a game reserve in the central west. The Shooters' Party currently has a bill before Parliament calling for the establishment of safari parks. Game council chief executive Brian Boyle says privatising wildlife management can be a saviour for endangered animals. "They are possibly endangered in their own countries and that's why things like private game reserves and zoos over here are a life raft for the species now," he said. "By putting a commercial value on the animal it's actually privatising wildlife management - we privatise everything else in Australia, but when it comes to wildlife we say hands off and it isn't working. "In African countries where there is commercial value or conservation hunting of those animals, the wildlife is doing very well, in countries like Kenya where hunting is totally banned, they have no populations of the wild animals outside the national parks." *ABC
Kangaroos
"Sustainable" Kangaroo Industry
Having spent the last 15 years commercially shooting kangaroos near Charleville, Jason Stafford reckons the industry is in its worst shape ever. A Russian ban on kangaroo meat has hit the Charleville kangaroo industry hard as Russia had been one of its most important markets. When the ban caused his main client United Game Processing to cut its demand for kangaroo meat, Mr Stafford was able to get work supplying another Charleville meat works, Game Meat Processing. Mr Stafford said he considered himself lucky to be able to continue as a full-time kangaroo shooter. “Some of the full-time shooters have had to go to get other jobs,” Mr Stafford said. Making a decent living to support his family has become more difficult though as Mr Stafford said the price of kangaroo meat has been on a decline over the last couple of years. “In 2006 and 2007, we were getting between one dollar and $1.30 a kilogram.” “It had gone down hill slowly to about 80 cents per kilogram a couple of months ago, but then there was another 15 cent drop.” “If the money goes any lower, a lot of us will have to get out (of the industry).” *Chronicle
The kangaroo may be on the coat of arms, but Australian's don't always have the most harmonious relationship with the marsupial. The kangaroo is often seen as a pest and all too often, as roadkill. Scientists say kangaroos are likely to continue to move to densely populated areas, as water becomes more scarce. And researchers are examining ways of controlling the spread of the animal by developing a sustainable harvesting industry. Presenter: Lexi Metherell reports Speaker: Dr Michael Archer, University of New South Wales; David Clarke, from the New South Wales Farmers Association. Ed Comment; If anyone wants to listen to this nonsense you can go here; http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/pacbeat/stories/200908/s2647517.htm
French wildlife authorities have finally caught up with a kangaroo that had been hopping around the French countryside for the past 10 days. Wildlife authorities cornered Will the kangaroo in the south-west village of Juillac-le-Coq late Wednesday and used a tranquilliser dart gun to put him to sleep and capture him, said his owner. Police had been receiving phone calls over past weeks from local residents who had spotted the 1.2-metre marsupial bouncing around a children's park or in corn fields. It remains unclear how Will managed to escape his pen in the first place. His owner, who lives in the nearby village of Gente, was on holidays when he went off on his adventure. * AFP
Ethical Wasteland
The Wildlife Society is a bunch of "wildlife professionals" (their words) who work to raise funds for sustainable wildlife Industries. They are a fairly powerful lobby group of researchers who support killing kangaroos and other wildlife. Mostly working from Universities where they can use the Uni's resources, they have had major input into really bad decisions about "managing" our wildlife. If you want to read a lot of garbage, and want to get angry, you can read some of their comments about the Majura kangaroo kill here...http://wildlifeprofessional.org/blog/?p=785 This is a blog, and you are invited to make comments, but I couldnt get the comments section to work. Perhaps I shouldnt have used those words............*
Kangaroo Arrests Made
A man is facing animal cruelty charges after four injured kangaroos were discovered in eastern Victoria. Two other men and a teenager were also arrested today in Jack Smith Lake Game Reserve in Middle Road, Darriman. A 21-year-old man from Athlone was charged with car theft, criminal damage, possessing a firearm while unlicensed and cruelty to animals. He was bailed to appear at the Latrobe Valley Magistrates' Court in Morwell on September 15. A 20-year-old Drouin South man is expected to be charged on summons for firearm offences and hunting protected animals. An 18-year-old Warragul man is expected to be charged on summons for cruelty to animals. Police have also questioned a 15-year-old boy. The Department of Sustainability and Environment is also investigating. *AAP
Kangaroo Research
ACT researchers say early results from a kangaroo tracking program in Canberra show the animals have a limited home range for feeding. Ecologists from the ACT Department of Territory and Municipal Services are part way through a two-year project to monitor the movements of eastern grey kangaroos using GPS collars. So far the research has revealed male kangaroos stay in an area of about three-square kilometres, while female kangaroos remain in an area of about half a square kilometre. Senior ecologist Don Fletcher says some of the data will be used to help reduce the number of wildlife road accidents around Canberra. "There's also potentially quite a bit of value in doing more about the motor vehicle collisions with kangaroos," he said. "We've got a few plans in that area and we'd like to be able to inform the road engineers better." Mr Fletcher says the development of GPS technology has made it easier to collect the information. "It's wonderful data, quite accurate locations from the GPS collars and lots and lots of it," he said. "And there's quite interesting patterns." *ABC
Ed Comment; There has been a lot of criticism through the wildlife networks about this project. One of our kangaroo expert associates noted;
This study by Don Fletcher would have to top the list of the biggest waste of tax payers money. He keeps creating ridiculous studies to keep himself in a job. You don’t have to be a Rocket Scientist to realize that Kangaroo collisions happen because so much of their habitat has been taken away. They HAVE to cross roads. Also, so many are being shot that many flee in terror and move to areas that they would not live. Fletcher is clearly not questioned about his useless research and will continue on his killing spree for as long as he can pull the wool over the idiotic Politicians who also appear to hate the Eastern Grey Kangaroo. Don’t get me wrong, there would be a Fletcher in every state who believes he or she is the Guru in regards to understanding Kangaroos. Fletcher has stated several things which to anyone who knows anything about Kangaroos has exposed him to know absolutely nothing about their behaviour, family dynamics or movement. *
Kangaroos Killed
Four severely hacked kangaroo carcasses were discovered dumped in Mogo State Forest on Saturday. Malua Bay resident Mike Johnson was mountain bike riding west of the Princes Highway, near Misons Road, when a number of crows alerted him to the dumping site. “The kangaroos were chopped up into bits,” he said. “It wasn’t a very nice scene.” Mr Johnson said he had been cycling around different parts of Mogo State Forest since moving to the South Coast three years ago. “This is the first time I’ve come across something like that.”
Mr Johnson contacted the Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service (WIRES), NSW Police and National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). National Parks and Wildlife Services spokesman Stuart Cohen said the service would be investigating whether the kangaroos were illegally culled. Even if they were legally culled, there was still an issue with the way the carcasses were dumped. Mr Cohen said there were no commercial culling operations on the South Coast, but farmers and landholders were able to apply for a 121 licence for non-commercial culling. He said non-commercial culling requires the licensed shooter to tag the kangaroo carcass. Mr Cohen said the meat could be given to dogs, but was not permitted for human consumption. A NPWS officer is due to attend the scene today to investigate the matter. *Bay Post
Later the ABC reports an investigation has begun after the discovery of mutilated kangaroo carcasses in Eurobodalla bushland on the State's far south coast. A bike rider found the remains of four animals in a shallow open grave west of the Princes Highway in the Mogo State Forest on Saturday. The National Parks and Wildlife Service says it suspects the kangaroos were killed illegally, and haven't been disposed of appropriately. A spokesman, Stuart Cohen, says there are numerous incidences of kangaroos being shot illegally on the Far South Coast. "Some people just shoot kangaroos for entertainment value," he said. "Others are not particularly interested in going through the process of applying for a license. "And others are shooting kangaroos illegally for the purposes of human consumption and to feed dogs." ABC
Kangaroo shot by Coppers
A police attempt to euthanase a wounded kangaroo went horribly wrong in front of a group of children. Police in Armidale were asked by the NSW Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service (WIRES) to euthanase the animal, which appeared to have broken a leg. But the operation was captured on film and posted online. In the clip, an officer fires three shots at the kangaroo at close range over a one-minute period. The kangaroo survives the first two shots and limps across a main road before being shot dead by the officer, metres from school students. The video - taken on Barney Street, Armidale, about 1.40pm on Sunday - has already generated online comments by people angry at the animal's treatment.The kangaroo was injured after being hit by a car, and had to be put down, said acting Inspector Matthew Crotty from Armidale police. "It's not uncommon for us to get called to a location to euthanase a kangaroo, being a rural area," he said.
A WIRES spokeswoman said the "options for a kangaroo with a broken leg are euthanasia and euthanasia". The preferable options were a "clean head shot" with a shotgun or a lethal injection by a vet, she said. "But transporting an animal with a badly broken leg to a vet is sometimes not the most humane option." As police prepared to shoot the kangaroo, the shock of the teenagers is heard in the video. "They won't do it with all of us here," one said. As the exercise drags on in full view of the public, the teens comment on the officer's inability to make a clean shot. "What? Are you kidding? Did he miss from there?" one says. Acting Inspector Crotty acknowledged the operation could have been quicker. "Ideally it would take just one shot," he said.
But shooting a kangaroo with a pistol was challenging, as its head was the size of a coffee cup, he said. "And we can't walk up to a wild animal, particularly a kangaroo that's flighty and can be dangerous, and put a firearm to its head." RSPCA NSW CEO Steve Coleman said the kangaroo had to be killed and police had done their best. "Having looked at the footage, it is our belief that the police did their level best to destroy the animal as well as they could, given the circumstances they were in. "The destruction of any animal is never a pretty scene." Acting Inspector Crotty said it was "unfortunate" the video had been posted online. Armidale police had already received a number of calls, he said. He said officers had tried to prevent onlookers from seeing it by moving their police van into place as a shield, but the kangaroo had moved away. They were also not aware their actions were being filmed, he said. Senior police at Armidale would review the incident to ensure the officers acted appropriately, as happens with all animal euthanasing, he said. * Network Item
End Animal Experimentation....http://animaldefendersinternational.createsend.com/T/ViewEmail/r/79B579BA9399E014/446FDCD146FEA4029A8E73400EDACAB4
Thinking about Wildlife? Who’s going to watch over our wildlife when you no longer share their World? Well, we are! The Wildlife Protection Association of Australia Inc. will continue to forcefully lobby governments to do better with wildlife management, and by taking them to Court if necessary. We are currently working on developing eLearning projects, so students can become aware of the importance of our wildlife living in a safe and secure natural environment. After you have looked after your family and friends in your Will, think about wildlife. A bequest to the Wildlife Protection Association of Australia Inc. will ensure that we can continue to take a leading role in protecting and conserving our precious wildlife. None of the donations we receive are diverted to "administration". Every dollar we get through bequests or donations for wildlife hits the ground running! Talk to your solicitor, or if writing your own Will, add the words "I bequeath to The Wildlife Protection Association of Australia Inc. for the purpose of protecting wildlife in Australia (a specified sum), or (specified items including land or vehicle), or (the residue of my estate) or (percentage of my estate) free of all duties, and the receipt of the President, Secretary or other authorised WPAA officer for the time being shall be a complete and sufficient discharge for the executor(s)." You can also phone me for a confidential chat, as to how a bequest can help us work to protect our wildlife, when you are no longer able to. * Pat O’Brien, WPAA 07 54941890
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